


Meet the Parents

by Sarcastic_Raspberry



Series: Meet the Parents [1]
Category: Kuroshitsuji | Black Butler
Genre: Family, Hell!Setting, Multi, Season 2 Continuation, Sebastian's Mom, demon!ciel, headcanons
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-09-13
Updated: 2015-05-23
Packaged: 2018-02-17 05:26:29
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 28
Words: 58,810
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2298149
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sarcastic_Raspberry/pseuds/Sarcastic_Raspberry
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>When Sebastian and Ciel enter Hell with Ciel as a newly made demon, they find that Sebastian has been presumed dead and his house has been taken by the government and resold as unclaimed property. With no one else to turn to, Sebastian takes Ciel to the only person he knows for sure will help him: His mother, Rhoda. But, being in his childhood home with Ciel Phantomhive still holding his leash is a little too much for him. Not to mention the new view Ciel has on his faithful butler. On a side note: Just how many embarrassing stories can Rhoda tell Ciel before Sebastian gives up on stopping her?<br/>((Sebaciel is not established and it's going to take a while for them to get there so if you're here only looking for some quick ship this isn't for you, sorry.))</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Surprises Galore

Ciel and Sebastian walked along a slim road. It had been about two weeks since they’d traveled to hell. The thing about hell is that it has the most interesting weather patterns. Ciel had originally been happily surprised by the wonderful sunlight that never seemed to fade, but was beginning to grow sick of it. Almost as soon as he thought this to himself, which was about five days in, it began pouring. And pouring. Only then did Sebastian tell him rainstorms could last for months in hell, just as the sun could last for days on end without setting. They still didn’t even have a proper place to nest in. Sebastian had been quite surprised to find his house had moved, but that soon blew over because that was normal down here, what with the crust of the earth moving ever so slightly every year. However, the differences in circumference turned a few inches into a few miles fairly quickly.

“It should be around here,” Sebastian said.

“That’s what you said four dead trees ago,” Ciel shot back, walking at the demon’s side with little enthusiasm.

“I’m sorry, young master,” he said “but I honestly think we’re approaching an old neighbor’s residence.”

“How can you tell?”

“Do you hear that?” Sebastian said, bringing a low steady rhythm to Ciel’s attention. “He always threw parties while I was away, and I do believe he played this exact song the last time I returned.”

“What kind of music is that?” Ciel asked. “Is it Spanish?”

“No, that music is from the Circle of Lust,” he explained. “They’ve been planning to launch it to the human race soon, but haven’t gotten around to it. So they’ve simply kept it underground. Some refer to it as ‘Jazz’, and believe the name will stick around.”

“And you have doubts then?” he asked.

Sebastian appeared to be ready to make a comment on that, but stopped when the music became increasingly loud and he looked forward in shock.

Never having seen such an expression on his face before, Ciel asked “Sebastian? Sebastian, what’s wrong? This is your neighbor’s house isn’t it?”

“No,” he said. “This is my house.”

The look of shock faded as he marched up to the door and knocked on it. Soon, a younger man answered. He gave Sebastian a half lidded look before realizing just who was standing before him, and rushing to try shutting the door. A black shoe stopped him.

“Hey, Ronan! Great to see you! Man, we all thought you were dead or something!” he said.

“Yes, I can see that you were very broken up about it,” Sebastian said, looking behind him at the raging party. “Anyway, I’ve come to reclaim my home.”

“Uh- actually, the boss said that this house was up for grabs so I kind of took it, you know? No hard feelings man!” the young demon said, looking at the tall man as he tried to close the door.

“They did what now?” was all he had to do to stop the action this time.

“Yea! You know how it works, if you don’t come back for a while they just start dividing things amongst the people!” he answered in a nervous tone.

“I see then. Not much I can do, now can I?” he said with a sigh. “Well, have fun with your party then.”

The demon looked surprised. “R-Really? Wow thanks Ronan! Look, I’d love to help you out though! If you wanna stay until you can find another-etch!”

He was cut off as a hand wrapped around his neck and he was staring into the terrifying smile of Sebastian Michaelis.

“Don’t push your luck,” he said, dropping the lesser demon to his feet before walking back to his master. “There has been a slight change in plans,” he said. “Apparently my house has been taken by the government down here and resold as unclaimed property.”

“Then what are we supposed to do?” Ciel asked. “We can’t sit out in the rain all day! I know we won’t get sick, but it still feels… wet.”

“Calm down, young master” Sebastian said, lending him his coat. “I still know someone who will most certainly allow us to use her home. However, the consequences of taking you to her could be catastrophic.”

“Who is it?” Ciel asked as he pulled the coat to himself, though it may as well have been soaked through as well as his own.

“That is a surprise for a later time, come now, I know how to reach her quickly,” he said, walking into the woods just off of the path they had been following. “Unlike myself, she lives in a more populated community. As such, there is a simpler way to travel there.”

“How so?” Ciel asked.

Sebastian answered, snapping his fingers and waving to thin air. Soon, there was a galloping of hooves against the ground and a carriage nearly knocked both of them over. The driver was headless, which was the first to grab Ciel’s attention.

“Trip to Ireland’s underworld, if you please,” Sebastian said, throwing some strange rock at the headless man.

If he had possessed eyes, Ciel would have guessed he was judging the odd currency before gesturing to the carriage itself for both of them to get in. The butler picked Ciel up, helping him into the carriage. Once they were both inside, they lurched forward as they took off. They were moving quite quickly, as a view outside told them, yet Ciel felt nothing. This was much unlike a normal carriage ride, which would usually feel rickety and unstable at such a speed. In a word, it was amazing.

“Try not to look at it too long, my lord,” Sebastian said, calling for his attention. “It’s quite a long ride to Ireland’s underworld, and I would advise you to take that time to sleep.”

“You know, no matter how many times you assure me that demons require sleep, I won’t be convinced unless you sleep as well,” Ciel said.

“Ah, but sleeping when my lord is not? What kind of butler would I be if I did such a thing?” he asked as a grin spreading across his face.

“Is it because of this demon? Who is he any way?”

Sebastian grinned. “I recall saying earlier that this demon was female, and she is someone who I’ve depended on for long periods of time in the past. I doubt that she will fail me now. Especially after seeing you. Why, she’ll be ecstatic.”

“That still doesn’t tell me who she is to you.”

“Don’t worry, my young lord. You will find out soon enough just who she is to me. For now please relax and enjoy the carriage ride.”

Ciel found himself unable to argue as two weeks of trekking through rain and shine finally got to him and he slumped against the side of the carriage. Soon, he was drifting off to sleep

* * *

 

He was awoken soon as the carriage pulled to a halt. It may have been night now but the clouds seemed to be thicker outside, blocking any sun that may have shined through entirely. So he wasn’t quite sure of that.

What he was sure of was Sebastian saying “Young master, wake up. We have arrived and our driver is growing quite impatient with us,” in a somewhat hushed tone. Soon he did awaken and stood to step out of the carriage. Almost as soon as Sebastian’s feet hit the ground behind him, the headless driver sped off. “Well, we’ve arrived.”

Ciel looked to him first before looking to the tall castle before him. It was quite larger than any manor he’d seen, but certainly was quite small as far as castles went. Water could be heard churning from somewhere nearby. The first image he received was the rocky beaches of London. Part of him wondered if the waters were red. The rain wasn’t, but all of the stories he heard about hell told of fiery waters. Whether this meant the water was red or if it was literally made of fire was a mystery to him. It piqued his curiosity, even as they made their way up to the door and Sebastian knocked.

“So this is her home?” Ciel asked as his butler began straightening out his hair and clothing. He wanted to say something, but thought against it and simply brushed it off as Sebastian doing whatever he felt was necessary. Even if his attempts at straightening him out were quickly squashed by the pouring rain. “Rather large, isn’t it?” he added, prompting him to respond.

“It is where she lived when she was human, so she had it rebuilt in hell,” he said. “As a rare class of demon, she has earned certain privileges.”

“Rare class of demon?”

Before his question could be answered, the large front door swung open to reveal a small blonde woman. “Welcome. Are you here to ask for the mistress?”

Sebastian stood at this, saying “Why yes actually. We were wondering if we may get a word.”

“I think it is only fair to warn you that the mistress was quite hoping to remain secluded for the rainy season,” she said.

“Just tell her Ronan has come for a visit,” he said. “She’ll know what it means.”

“Very well,” the girl said. She looked like she was considering leaving them outside, but then she saw Ciel. Quickly becoming flustered, she said “Oh my! A pup out in this rain! The mistress will have my head if I leave you out here. Come inside both of you!”

Confused, and slightly irritated at being called ‘pup’, Ciel was herded inside by Sebastian. His butler gave the girl a kind smile as he said “Why thank you for inviting us.”

They walked in to find it a long hall in both directions.

“No trouble, the mistress adores pups. She may even try to take this one from you if you don’t watch out!” she said, a bit kinder now. “He’s quite the cute one, I’ll tell you!”

“Ita?” a strong Irish accent came from down the hall. The voice was followed by a light coming into view. “What’s going on? Are these visitors?” soon, a young woman appeared fully in the long hall, holding a lantern. When she saw Sebastian, her face filled with glee as the lantern was shoved into the blond girl’s hands. “Ronan! So good to see you!” she said, arms flinging around his neck. “How’s my special boy? Have you been doing well for yourself? Just look at you, you look like you’ve been through the wringer and back into the water! What have I told you about using umbrellas?!”

“Mother please I-”

“Don’t ‘mother please’ me! I haven’t seen you in ages, and you finally decide to show up when you look like a drowned rat! What kind of manners-”

“‘Mother’?” Ciel said to himself, unintentionally calling attention from the woman.

“Oh dear,” she said, turning to see him. She quickly dropped the stern look on her face and fell to her knees to coddle him, much against his fruitless struggling. “You have a pup of your own now! How cute! He’s an adorable little one, isn’t he? Why didn’t you tell me sooner? He has to be quite old by now. Perhaps ten years? Twelve? Either case, I wish you had sent me a picture when he was younger, at the least! I can only imagine how he looked when he was still a little sprout!” she fawned, quickly making Ciel dizzy with confusion as she continued to shout by his head.

Not soon enough, Sebastian scooped him out of her grasp as he said “Mother, this is not a pup in my care. This is my young lord. I apologize for my rudeness, but he has certain limits when it comes to physical contact. Surely you understand?”

She sighed, standing up and saying “Yes, yes of course I understand! Your brother had the same problem. But what do you mean he isn’t a pup in your care? What else could this little darling be? Certainly not a full fledge demon, that’s something I know for certain!”

“He was turned into a demon only two weeks ago using rather untraditional methods. I am caring for him, but not in the way you cared for me,” he answered, setting Ciel on the ground again.

“Untraditional methods? Whatever could that mean?” Before Sebastian could open his mouth to speak, she went on with “Oh, you can tell me later! First, let’s get you out of those rags! Ita, please prepare some spare clothes for my son and his tiny charge!”

“Yes mistress,” the blonde girl said walking away.

“I trust you know where the bath is, Ronan?” she said. When he looked like he was going to protest, she said “You must bathe first, you smell like a wet dog! Or would you like me to do it for you like I used to?”

He stiffened up. “No, that will not be necessary. Also, I would prefer if you call me Sebastian.”

“Why would I do such a thing?”

“Reasons I will explain later. We’ll discuss this in the lounge, I presume?”

“Ah yes, the one on the second floor.” Before they left, she turned him by the shoulder, gave him a peck on the cheek, and said “Good to see you home.”

Sebastian smiled at her, laying a gloved hand on hers. “It’s good to see you as well.”

They then walked down the hall, Ciel minding his tongue until a moment came that he could ask what the hell was going on. This moment arose when Sebastian began leading him up a staircase and through a door, which opened to reveal a brightly lit entry room.

“This is the main part of the castle. At this point, it becomes something more of a manor. The part we were just in was only the surrounding wall,” Sebastian explained.

“And this castle is owned by your mother?” Ciel asked. “I didn’t know demons had mothers.”

“Well, you never really asked,” the butler said, leading Ciel further through the entrance way and up another flight of stairs.

“So, she lived here when she was alive. That is what you said. What does it mean, though?”

“You aren’t the first human to be turned into a demon. All demons were humans at one point in history. We sold our souls. Once the souls were devoured, they were processed and turned into young demons, which we call pups. The pups are then given to full demons to raise and protect until they’ve reached adult hood. Did you not notice when we had to sign in at the gates that the man asked your name, yet not mine?”

“What was he doing then?” Ciel asked.

“He was adding you to the list of new demons,” Sebastian said. “The gate keeper has a perfect memory, and has memorized every face to enter or exit hell. It’s only predictable that he would want to know your name to add to the list.”

“And he didn’t ask why I wasn’t processed or anything that you said I had to be? Isn’t that a little dangerous?”

“In what way? If a back ground check was necessary for every human a demon sheathe took the time to turn on their own accord, the gate would have had quite the line backed up. If a human did find their way to the gates, or an angel or a reaper whatever the case may be, that would be their own fault and they would be asked to leave. Forced if necessary. The gate keeper has the full ability to tell who does and doesn’t belong down here.”

“I see,” Ciel said as they turned into a large room. He took a moment to gape at the large bathtub, already filled with steaming water.

“It’s been quite some time since you’ve been properly bathed,” Sebastian noted, already taking off the coat he’d placed on his shoulders earlier. “Let us get you washed and dried.”

He nodded in agreement as his butler undressed him and set him in the bath. His eyes then grew wide as Sebastian began undressing also.

“What are you doing?” he asked, trying to keep from shouting.

“Would it not be most efficient if I was to bathe with you?” he said as he removed his vest and started on his dress shirt. “My mother did say that I smelled like a wet dog. She also said that, if I did not bathe myself, she would do it for me. I believe that this option is the more preferred of the two.”

“Fine then, I guess it won’t hurt anything,” Ciel said, sinking into the warm water as the cold flowed from his skin. Again, they couldn’t get sick but being cold and wet was not preferred to any race.

Sebastian sunk in behind him and began washing his hair with slow movements, and some sort of soap that smelled like berries.

“So, she didn’t actually birth you then?” he asked.

“Only one class of demons has ever been known to birth children,” Sebastian said. “All demons are simply assigned to parents when they are processed.”

Ciel pondered over this for a moment before he said “I see. Then how do you have a brother?” The movements on his scalp ceased for a moment. “She did mention you having a brother, if you’re wondering.”

He started shampooing again, saying “As I mentioned earlier, she is of a rare class of demons. This class, called ‘flower demons’, is trained and specialize in caring for young demons. This is also the cause of her abundance of motherly instincts. She is the first one they turn to when they have special cases. My brother and I were such a case, as were unable to be separated once we were processed. It is rare for two demons to be raised together, but it is only limited to this class because they are the only ones who can handle it.”

“You mean to say that they were sure she wouldn’t eat one of you?” he asked with a small grin as Sebastian began to rinse the soap out of his hair.

“My young lord, I feel that I must warn you against saying such in front of my mother. She is very vocal when it comes to demons that are unfit to raise pups of their own. But no, there is not a strong possibility of a demon eating a pup under their care. However, it can be fairly stressful for one who has not been trained for the position.”

Before Ciel could respond, the door creaked open and a girl walked into the room. Ciel immediately sunk in the water, trying to hide himself.

It was Ita, who smiled at him. “Don’t be afraid! I brought the clothes mistress asked me to bring!”

“Thank you very much,” Sebastian said from behind him, making Ciel even more self-conscious.

“I’ll just leave them here,” she said as she placed the clothing on the sink counter. “I trust the water’s temperature is to your liking?”

“Indeed, thank you again. I dare say this reminds me of my childhood.”

“I have no doubt it would,” Ita said, picking up the discarded clothing from earlier and placing it into a basket. Upon finding the eye patch, she gave it a sad look but put it with the clothing on the counter. “Though I must apologize for almost having you wait outside. I didn’t recognize you from her pictures of you.”

“No trouble, I should apologize for not telling you I was one of her children in the beginning. I also apologize for not placing those clothes into a hamper, at the least. I assure you that I will take care of it next time.”

“Oh no, it’s no problem! Mistress pays me well for my job, and I wouldn’t have it if I let other demons swoop in and start cleaning up! I suppose I’ll see you both later then!”

Sebastian nodded to her as she walked out of the room and looked down to Ciel.  He then began to laugh as he said “I’m afraid demons just do not have the same insecurities about the human form as, well, humans do.”

Ciel didn’t respond immediately, but soon said “Let’s just get dressed. I’ve had enough of this bath!”

“Yes, my young lord,” Sebastian said, helping him out and wrapping himself in a towel. He grabbed another and began toweling Ciel off. “Hopefully this will be enough for her. I don’t know what I would do if she tried to bathe you herself.”

“You’d defend me wouldn’t you?” Ciel asked, not really expecting an answer.

“You would pit me against my own mother over something as simple as a bath?” Sebastian asked with a large smile painted over his face.

Ciel didn’t respond. He allowed himself to be dressed in the new articles of clothing. He remembered when Sebastian told him that the only clothing he’d be allowed to bring into Hell were the ones on his back. Apparently it had something to do with their economics crashing if foreign trade became common amongst demons. It was actually really elaborate and he was surprised that they (whoever ran hell) thought so far into it. So he was left to pack clothes only to have Sebastian burry them in some empty field, never to see the light of day again. It was a real waste.

“Where are these clothes from? I’ve never seen anything like this before,” Ciel asked, looking at the shorts that were a bit longer than what he would usually wear and the bow around his neck was particularly large.

“Those are actually my brother’s old clothes. I must say they fit you very well,” he said as he tied the eye patch onto Ciel’s head. It was more or less something they both clung onto for the normality of it, but Sebastian was glad he was wearing it when they came to the castle. “They are a bit outdated down here, but I can’t imagine things having changed that much.”

He then began pulling the clothes left for him onto himself. They were black, as with Ciel’s. It must have just been the style that was currently ‘in’ at the time, but the grey dress shirt under the suit was really a big difference that Ciel didn’t like at all. He kept his comment to himself as Sebastian led him to another flight of stairs. This one was smaller and led directly to two large doors. When opened, they revealed Sebastian’s mother talking with Ita. The maid was placing a silver dish, holding a tea set, onto the table in between two large arm chairs.

“Would that be all, mistress?” she asked.

“Oh! I almost forgot! Ita, would you be a dear and replace that chair with the loveseat from the corner? It would be a bit more appropriate for seating two.”

Sebastian looked as if he was going to take the job for himself, out of habit most likely, but Ita was already holding the loveseat in one arm before picking up the chair with the other and replacing them. Honestly, it was amazing and unexpected for Ciel. For Sebastian, it was just a reminder that he wouldn’t be praised by all who saw for doing such things that took little to no effort on his part. He’d never admit it to anyone in his eternal life, but he would miss the attention it brought him on earth. There was no time for that now, though.

“Thank you Ita, that will be all for tonight. You may retire if you wish.” After Ita left with a small nod, she reached over to pat the love seat and said “Ronan, come sit down will you? You both need some rest. You must have been traveling for days!”

They said nothing as Ciel moved over to the couch and sat on the farther of the two seats. Sebastian was about to walk behind the seat, again out of habit, before walking around it completely and sitting next to Ciel. It was weird considering they’d never actually been seated next to each other before. Usually Sebastian was seated across from him, and only if they were in a carriage or a train. It was a servant’s place after all, never to sit next to their master. But This wasn’t England anymore. They were in a house of someone who had expected Sebastian to be the guest and Ciel was the lesser of the two in this case. At least, that was how he saw it.

“Well, let’s start off with introductions! My name is Rhoda,” she said, breaking the ice. Ciel was about to respond and introduce himself when, to Sebastian’s horror, she continued. “You can also call me Grandmother Rhoda, Nanna, Grammy, Nan, or even-”

“Perhaps it would be best if we left it at Rhoda,” Sebastian said. “I do believe I told you that he was not my pup. He is my young lord and has no actual like to you through a family tree.”

She visibly sagged against the arm of her chair. “I know darling, but I can’t help but get excited! And what does that mean anyway?” she shot up in her seat “You aren’t a greed demon! I’m not one for ‘following our roles to a T’ but what has reduced you to serving another of our kind?”

“It isn’t quite like that,” he said. Rhoda gave them a confused look, narrowing her eyes in disbelief. “Perhaps it would be best if I just showed you before we tell our story.”

Ciel didn’t know what he meant by “show” but Sebastian’s hands were behind his head, untying the eye patch that had been placed there only minutes ago. As it fell, so did the calm, and somewhat pleased, look on Rhoda’s face.

“Is that the mark of a contract? Ronan, what did you do?” she asked, an angry tone creeping into her voice.

“Mother please. You see four earth years ago, one hundred and sixty five of our years actually, my lord summoned me and the contract was formed. But a handful of other demons got in the way and…”

“You mean to say that you managed to piss off a demon sheathe and she took away the soul you worked- how long did you say? Four earth years for! Oh Ronan.” She looked at Ciel, her eyes dulling from the anger. “So now you’re simply picking up the pieces then? Nothing else?”

“Not quite.”

“What do you mean ‘not quite’? That should be it! End of story! You don’t need to serve him!” she paused, one of her fears being realized right in front of her. “You don’t need to serve him… do you? I mean, I’ve seen demon sheathes turn humans before! You can break it off now, he can’t hold up his end of the bargain!”

“That isn’t everything,” Ciel said. “My name is Ciel Phantomhive, and I feel that I should say my last order to Sebastian was reckless. The reason he can’t leave my side is because I ordered him to never leave me until he ate my soul. This was before I became a demon, and I had no intentions of not following through with my end of the deal.”

She dropped her head into her hands and Ciel was somewhat surprised to see Sebastian rise to her side.

“I can’t even express to you how I feel about this. I’m sorry that I have brought news into your life,” he said, laying a hand on her back.

She shot up and grabbed his arm. His eyes grew with fear, as if he feared that Rhoda was going to hurt him. But she simply took a deep breath and looked at Ciel. “I suppose that I can’t blame either of you for this. It’s all the fault of those demons that got in your way.” She stood up. “But you still have a pup that you’ve brought into my home. And he’s going to look this adorable forever!”

Ciel was surprised and had no time to dodge as Rhoda clung to him again, scooping him off of the couch and into her arms. After a few, nearly pointless struggles, she set him down and said “Oh, sorry! I forgot that you didn’t like to be held.” She brushed him off with a smile and said “Your name was Ciel” she reached out a hand “Correct?”

He gave her a strange look before meeting her hand for a handshake and said “Yes. And you’re Rhoda. Sebastian’s mother.”

She smiled before standing up and putting her hands on her hips. “So Sebastian is the name you gave him. Well, I can’t blame him after four years for wanting to keep it. It’s charming, sophisticated! It must have been the name of a hero, or perhaps the current prince!” she fawned, easily turning the matter of a name into that of a gushing performance.

But this performance crashed to the ground as Ciel said “It was the name of my dog.”

She looked to Sebastian, hoping for a sign that it wasn’t so. But he grimly nodded his head with a slight sneer on his face. “Oh. Well then. A good dog at least? Purebred?”

“Yes, he was an afghan,” Ciel said, a bit weary of continuing the conversation.

“Okay then. Well, it doesn’t matter to me!” She walked over to Sebastian, pinched his cheek, and said she said “You’ll always be Ronan to me! I don’t care what kind of contracts you make or what name someone gives you. Nothing will ever change that. Do you hear me?” Every word seemed to tighten her grip.

Sebastian tried his best to keep his voice level as he said “Yes mother. I understand, but I can’t make my lord call me the same.”

She released him. “Yes, that is understandable. And I can’t exactly have him calling me grandma or any other variation, now can I?” Sebastian rubbed his cheek, as if it had actually hurt him, and she turned to Ciel. “But that does leave me asking why you’re both here. I can understand if you had questions about raising a pup, but you’ve never been the type to just clue me in about your current situation. So what is going on?”

“Well that’s another thing,” Sebastian said, looking a bit nervous this time. That was Ciel’s first clue that something was wrong. “My house may have gotten repossessed over the course of one hundred and sixty five years that I was gone.”

She sighed. “I see. Well, these things can’t be helped! I suppose you’ll have to stay with me then!”

The smile on her face showed that she had absolutely no problem with this, and Ciel was beginning to understand when Sebastian said “…the consequences of taking you to her could be catastrophic.” The only thing that he could say was that he was glad that she was taking this so well. Maybe this wouldn’t be so bad after all.


	2. Mother & Son Bonding

After all of the initial exposition, Rhoda sat down again. This invited Sebastian and Ciel to do the same.

“Well that was one rambunctious evening! Oh, I haven’t felt this lively in months!” she said, pouring some tea into a cup before handing it to Sebastian. “Tea darling?”

“I do believe I will, thank you,” he said, taking the cup and sipping it lightly.

“Wait a moment,” Ciel said. “I thought demons couldn’t taste things and didn’t have to eat.”

“Nonsense!” Rhoda said as she poured another cup. “We can’t taste human food at all, but that’s only due to it being made for humans! The food down here is grown properly and especially for those of our world. Eating this food isn’t necessary and whatever has been consumed will simply disappear- and I mean that literally- but yes, you can taste it.” She offered the cup to him. “Would you care to try it?”

He looked at Sebastian from the corner of his eye before taking the cup into his hands and drinking a bit of it. It was good actually. A bit bitter for his tastes, but he could taste it and that was all that mattered.

Rhoda then poured herself a cup with a smile on her face. “So, being new to Hell, I have to imagine that you don’t know the first thing about life down here. Do you think we live on anarchy and every day is something of a lewd ball? Or do you think that we live in a slave based system where the only reason we breed is to fight at the gates of heaven?”

He stiffened up. “To be honest, I’ve never really put any thought into it.”

“Well good,” she said “because it’s neither. It’s actually quite like the human world in a way. We have children, schools, towns, districts, houses, and the government protects us from each other.

Though, there are the bad things of the human world too and the angels tried their best to distract from the positives with those things.”

“I see, so it’s more of an immortal earth if anything,” Ciel reasoned. “But it’s been painted to look worse than it actually is.”

“Precisely,” Sebastian said. “Though there are a few quirks in our behavior and culture, all we really have is an adaptation of the human world. I can’t imagine that it would take you long to get used to it.”

“Oh! I know what we can do!” Rhoda said. “A tour!”

“A tour of the castle you mean?” Ciel asked.

“Well yes, but that’s only for tonight! When the rainy season ends, we can take a stroll to the market or perhaps even ride in that gaudy boat tour around the town!” Rhoda said. “What do you think, Ronan? Just like one of the outings when you were a pup! Though, something tells me we won’t have a repeat of the bowl shop incident. Will we?”

“Bowl shop?” Ciel asked.

Sebastian tried to retain his pleasant demeanor. “It’s nothing of importance. It’s just something I did as a boy.”

“He broke everything!” Rhoda said with a laugh. “I wasn’t laughing at the time because I had to pay for it but let me tell you! It was the most ungraceful sight I’ve ever laid eyes on!”

Ciel smiled and gave a breath of a laugh, looking at Sebastian from the corner of his eye. “How did you manage that?”

Sebastian sighed and resisted the urge to pinch his nose. “I may have caught my foot on one of the lower shelves. And tripped.”

It was a big thing for Ciel, who hadn’t seen his once perfect butler so much as stumble in a movement, to picture the same demon tripping and falling. This was an equally big thing for Sebastian who knew that, like many children, he had many more stories where that came from.

He tried changing the subject. “Apart from that incident, I wouldn’t have it any other way,” he said.

 

“Oh good! I really hope that you take well to the others!”

“Others?” Ciel asked. “Do you mean, in the castle?”

“As I recall stating earlier, young master, this is quite the populated part of hell.”

“Indeed! Demons of all kinds run to this area to live in and that only attracts more from there!” Rhoda said.

“But why is this area so populated when there were only a handful of houses around Sebastian’s?”

“That was just a preference of mine,” Sebastian said. “As you know, I detest unnecessary interaction. But some demons enjoy the convenience of only having to travel a short distance to purchase those that they desire, as opposed to the long journeys to ‘close’ markets.”

“And some even enjoy company. But Ronan has never been able to wrap his head around that,” Rhoda said with a comical roll of her eyes. “Either way, I chose to live in a populated area so there are many places around here that you can get a real look inside demonic culture!”

Considering he’d used the words “demonic culture” to look down on those who used barbaric practices, Ciel wasn’t exactly excited about the world beyond the castle walls. Of course it wasn’t like he’d be thrown out there right away. He’d have a chance to get used to it with only this castle as his guide.

“First, we can have a tour! I do like the idea of showing you around the place,” she said as she stood, abandoning her tea. “Oh it’s been a long time since I’ve introduced myself to someone, this is a real treat, it is! Come on, we can start with the third floor.”

Sebastian stood warily and Ciel followed. The grand doors were opened and they began walking down a long hall. “This is the third floor, as I said! There are two wings to the house. Right now we’re in the far left wing. It’s the only wing I use because it has the kitchen and then a majority of the bedrooms! Oh but there was this one time-”

The tour continued with Rhoda pointing out different rooms and sometimes stopping to dwell on a memory or story. Sometimes they were about Sebastian, but a majority of the stories were about nameless children she claimed Ciel may never meet. She seemed like an odd, slightly clingy, demon. But Ciel could tell that they would have very few issues. After all, he couldn’t really start anything with her on account that she was their host. But he could be as salty about her clinginess as he wanted.

“Pardon me,” Sebastian said, interrupting yet another story about some child riding on the chandelier of the dining room. “Mother, I do not mean to cut this wonderful tour short, but my young lord does require rest.”

She looked down at Ciel with a quizzical look. It took one more look at Sebastian for her to perk up and say “Ah, yes! I understand! There are some nightshirts in the closet of Pierce’s old bedroom.

They’re unused, but I wouldn’t exactly call them new,” she added to herself. She gave him a smile. “You can also sleep in that room, if you’d like.”

Sebastian nodded and Ciel said “That would do nicely actually. I can’t thank you enough for your hospitality.” He wondered if he should say what was on his mind, briefly, before he said “You seem to be taking to this all quite well.”

She put her hands on her hips and smiled down at him. “One has to be prepared for the unexpected down here you know. And this isn’t exactly the worst reunion I’ve had. Why there was one daughter of mine- oh she came back telling me about how she’d run off and married this human and he turned out to-” she paused when she saw Sebastian smiling eagerly over Ciel’s head. “Never mind, that! The story isn’t that important, and you do need your rest. I think I’ll be turning in for the night as well, good night darlings!”

With that, she half jogged up a small flight of stairs and left Sebastian to prepare Ciel for bed.

“Would you care to retire, my lord?” he asked, motioning to the same flight of stairs.

“I slept on the way here,” Ciel said. “I don’t have to sleep now, you know that.”

“Ah, but are you sure that you don’t? As I recall, you went three days without sleeping before you finally slept in the carriage,” Sebastian said.

A hand was laid on his shoulder and he immediately felt the exhaustion sweep through his muscles. His legs would have bucked if it wasn’t for Sebastian’s supporting embrace.

“Are you alright, my lord?”

“No,” Ciel said, pushing away from him. “You’re right, I do need to rest. I suddenly feel quite tired.”

Sebastian smiled at him. “Then shall we prepare you for bed?”

Ciel nodded warily as Sebastian led him up the stairs and down the hall. The bedroom was small with a single large bed on the right wall, and a small wardrobe sat on the left beside a dresser. Two nightstands joined the bed, each of them holding large lamps. Once they were inside the room, Ciel immediately sat on the bed. His legs thanked him as he began to work on his shoelaces. He only had one shoe off by the time Sebastian selected a nightshirt and kneeled beside the bed.

“I trust that this will be suitable for your first night?” Sebastian asked, setting the shirt down next to Ciel so he could begin undressing him.

“Yes,” he said. The shirt, again, looked slightly odd compared to the clothes he wore presently, but he wouldn’t say anything. It’s not like it mattered anyway. The knot that kept his eye patch in place was loose, and so he was able to get out of it by the time Sebastian started to work on his shirts.

Soon enough, he was in the strange bed and ready to go to sleep. His clothes were thrown into a hamper, and Sebastian was out the door.

* * *

Sebastian was after something for himself. He remembered when he was young and would walk the same corridor and do the same thing he did at that moment.

He pushed open the door to his mother’s bedroom to find her sitting politely on the edge of her bed, as if she’d expected him. She always had. Sebastian smiled at the familiar sight as he closed the door, walked over to her, and bent down to give Rhoda a hug.

“Oh, Ronan!” She was crying and clawing at his black coat in an attempt to pull him closer. This succeeded in bringing him to his knees. “I missed you so much! You don’t even know!”

“I missed you as well,” he said, attempting to pull back.

She felt the pull and released him enough to properly look at his face. “You’ve grown so much. It’s been a good while since I’ve seen you. Hope that boy’s been treating you well.”

He read the sour look on her face and tilted his head. “I can understand that you’re upset after hearing my circumstances for the past few years, but I really am okay with this.”

“How can you be? This is absolute humiliation for a demon of your stature! What if all of my children did this? How am I supposed to prosper at this rate?”

“So that’s what you’re really upset over?” he grumbled to himself.

“What was that?!”

“N-Nothing!”

She crossed her arms and looked down at him. “You still didn’t answer me.”

“What was the question?” he asked.

“How can you be okay with this? Of all things, how can you be okay with this?” She stared into his eyes for a long time, waiting for an answer.

He took the time to stand up before he said “Well, I can’t say that I was from the start. In fact, I may have tried to murder him. Twice.” She nodded. “But, I have to say that I am quite glad that I am the one helping him in this transition rather than some other demon.”

She threw him a murderous glance. “And what’s wrong with him being raised by demons who have given a part of their life for someone else’s benefit?”

“Nothing!” he assured. “There would be nothing wrong if he were to get someone like you. However, I think we are both painfully aware that there is the possibility that he may have been put into someone else’s care.”

She looked at him and uncrossed her arms with a sigh. “I understand that. But I still think that this is somewhat irresponsible.”

“Really? How so?”

“That boy will not be ‘raised’ by you. He will be catered to, and little else.”

He gave a soft laugh. “While that may be true, I am afraid that he is quite mature for his age and could very well surprise you. As for physical growth, you and I both know it is impossible.”

She dropped the subject. “What about sleep? I know that processed and naturally born pups need to sleep, but what about him?”

“There is no need for sleep that I can detect. I’ve mostly been having him sleep as a matter of personal convenience.”

She let out a spurt of laughter. “Using sleep as a pacifier? If only it was that easy all the time! You do realize that he’ll eventually learn that he doesn’t grow tired like he used to?”

“At that point, I can tell him that I never actually said that sleep was a necessity.”

“Oh loopholes always were your favorite part of a contract!” she said with a smile. “Well, I only have one thing to say then. Welcome home, Ronan.”


	3. The Game of Lords and Sport of Kings

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sebastian ends up playing a game with his young lord and his mother.... A board game.

Ciel awoke to complete darkness. He felt the plush of a soft bed under him, which made him a bit confused at first. Only then did the memories of the night before return to him and he calmly sat up. The room was illuminated for a moment only to disappear with a loud crack of thunder, ruining the tranquil noise of rain drops hitting the widow. He jumped a bit, as the noise was right outside of the window, but did little else. When the room was illuminated, he saw the same things as when he went to sleep. But there were also two more things by his bedside: A lamp and a box of matches. He leaned over and struck one of the matches, lighting the candle afterwards.

He also picked up his eye patch and began covering his eye. He was getting better at tying it behind his head each and every day he did it. But, never the less, Sebastian entered the room.

“Good to see that you’re awake,” he said, walking forward, only to turn to the cabinet and pick out some of the clothing on the hangers.

“Is it night or day now?” Ciel finally asked.

Sebastian smirked as he set down the clothes and began unbuttoning Ciel’s shirt. “Actually,” he said “there is neither in hell.”

“What is that supposed to mean?” he asked.

“Well, down here, the sun and the moon are false creations. The ring of lust prefers a warm sun, while sloth prefers a slow night, so it really depends on where you are or what the resident overlord is in the mood for that day.”

“So you’re saying that there’s no way to tell when you’re supposed to wake up or not?”

“That isn’t what I’m saying at all. We simply go by the hour. On earth, it would be day time right about now at one in the afternoon.”

“I’ve been sleeping for that long?” he asked, shocked that Sebastian let him sleep in that long.

“I wanted to assure that you were fully rested from your ride here. My mother and I were playing a game of chess in the parlor room. I could escort you there and you could join us if you’d like,” Sebastian said with his usual kind smile.

Ciel only glared. “Isn’t that a little domestic for you?”

He raised an eye brow, standing up to his full height. “I’m sorry, my lord, but what would you like me to do? We can’t go out while the weather is like this, and I can’t simply ignore my own mother while she so generously allowed us to stay under her roof. Not to mention, its not like we have much to do down here anyway.”

He supposed that was true. They couldn’t exactly count on a letter from the queen to come upon his doorstep down there. Actually, he didn’t even have a doorstep down there. It was her doorstep.

So, with a dejected sigh, he stood and walked with Sebastian just behind as they made their way to the parlor room. Rhoda was sitting there with a smile. This smile can be described in two different ways: For Sebastian, it was an expected and warm smile. For Ciel, it was creepy and a bit disconcerting.

He thought the same of the way her eyes followed them across the room, and how she sat on the edge of the couch in front of an abandoned chess board.

“Good morning!” And her voice. “Good to see that you’re awake!”

“Yes, good morning to you as well,” he said, taking a seat next to where Sebastian had already sat himself down.

“Would you like to join us? I do have games that can be played with three players, if you’d like,” Rhoda said.

“You don’t need to stop your game on my part,” Ciel said. “I’m perfectly fine with you finishing first.”

Honestly, he thought that he might regret saying that before he actually saw them play. It was amazing. Their hands moved with such speed that Ciel’s mouth almost flew open in surprise. He vaguely saw pawns running across the board, only to be squashed in their attempts to resurrect their fallen comrades. It was far more interesting than any chess match he’d merely observed. Finally, with Rhoda’s king captured, the game was over.

“Oh well that was fun!” Rhoda said. “You’ve gotten quite good since you left.”

“Well I have learned from the best,” Sebastian said, a hand reaching over his chest while his eyes shifted over to Ciel.

Rhoda, of course, had her own ideas. “Oh, well, I wouldn’t go as far as to say that I’m the best chess player! I think I do fairly well and all, but that’s all about perspective!” Knowing that there was no arguing with her, Sebastian remained silent. “Anyway, shall we play again? Or would you like to play, Ciel?” she asked, turning to him. Before he could answer, she continued with “Oh that’s right! I’ll just go get one of those games I have for more than three players. Give me a second.”

“No, it’s fine. I don’t need to play, after all,” Ciel said, trying to weasel his way out of it.

“Nonsense! Here, I know just the game! I think you’ll like this as well, Ronan. After all, it was your favorite game as a pup!”

She pulled a large box off of a shelf and set it down on the table. The name of the game read “The Landlord’s Game”.

“What’s this?” Ciel asked. He looked up from the box to Sebastian, only to see a look of horror stretching his eyes and causing his jaw to clench.

“It’s called ‘The Landlord’s Game’,” Rhoda said. “The rules are simple, and you’ll catch on quickly. So, what do you say? Wanna give it a go?”

He looked back to Sebastian, who’s face had settled into a mix of fear and sudden acceptance.

Against all of his better judgment, Ciel said “Alright, I can try it.”

“Alright! I’ll be the Government Official. Ronan, why don’t you be the banker? Ciel doesn’t know how to play after all.”

Sebastian sighed and picked up two tokens before adjusting the fake money into its designated slot. “Very well, then.” He handed Ciel a piece, saying “This is your token. It’s used to mark your progress in the game.”

He wanted to say that he knew what a token was for, but he didn’t want to discourage them from giving him further instruction. Not knowing the game is grounds for an automatic loss, after all.

He also handed him five hundred dollars in the money, but didn’t even say anything on that part.

“Don’t worry about the details right now! You’ll figure it out soon enough,” Rhoda said. “Let’s just roll the dice to see who goes first. Highest to lowest.”

They each took turns rolling the die: Sebastian- three, Rhoda- five, and Ciel- eleven.

“Lucky for you!” Rhoda said. “Just roll again, and that’ll be your first move.”

Ciel did as he was told, rolling the dice on the small coffee table. He got a seven for his troubles. He moved the piece, taking all seven squares at once, and landed on a square labeled: Railroad.

And so the game began.

Honestly, board games with demons are usually never a good idea and I wouldn’t recommend it to anyone. Usually, there is a fare amount of foul play and those who don’t participate in such a course of action can end up being severely injured, or worse. Then there is the case of a demon who holds herself in high esteem for her ability to win a children’s game, a boy who hates to lose in any case, and another demon who would rather not play against two such adversaries.

The stakes were high: Pride. In all things considered, this was really only valued by two of the competitors. The other one was just trying to survive a dual between his beloved mother and his high lord. He may have joked about it before, but he honestly had no idea what he would do if the situation came to the worst and he was pitted against his mother on his master’s behalf. As the game continued and properties were bought, monopolies formed, taxes grew, and a whole lot of rule-book flipping brought about chaos for those involved: Sebastian’s turns were slowly forgotten and it turned into a match of one on one.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Funfact: The Landlord's Game is a real game that Monopoly was based off of. Though it wasn't invented until 1904 (roughly three years after the end of Kuroshitsuji II) I do have a plan to bring all of this together later.


	4. Familiar Faces

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> They finally manage they're first outing.

While the intense game was going on, Sebastian sensed another demon approaching the room at a calm speed. Soon after, the door opened to reveal that said demon was Ita.

“Good evening, all!” she said, “I was just wondering if any of you would like some- eek!” She shrieked as a stray piece came whizzing by her head, jamming itself in the wooden door. There was an audible sigh. “… tea.”

At hearing the scream, both Rhoda and Ciel looked up from the game at once. “Oh, Ita! Some tea would be lovely, thank you,” Rhoda said. The determined expression that once held her face hostage was replaced with a kind smile, and Sebastian was relieved for it.

When the table was unfolded and placed by the couch, he almost rose to pour it for both Ciel and his mother. Only when Ita placed the dish holding the tea set onto the small table did he realize that he was no longer obligated to do so.

I’m going to have to stop this soon, he thought to himself.

He pursed his lips in frustration, only to curve them into a smile of gratitude when Ita handed him a cup. When he turned back to the action, Rhoda and Ciel were both still quite entranced by the game. Such a heated stare, which the two shared, reminded him of the games he used to play with his own brother. Such memories were brushed aside with ease when he realized what had to be done.

His eyes shifted over to the tea stand. Taking his foot, quickly and quietly, he snapped the fastener out of place. Ita was able to save the tea set by catching the plate, but the noise startled Rhoda into dumping her tea on the board. With a cry of distaste, it was over. It was finally over.

“Oh drat! It looks like I’ve gone and destroyed our game,” she said with a sigh as she began picking up her cup and placing it on the table. “Oh well.”

“I’m so sorry mistress! The table must have a loose bolt. Allow me to clean this mess and repair the stand immediately,” she said, sneaking a grateful look at Sebastian.

So this woman had been working with his mother long enough to know what board games in the house meant. Good, it would surely come in handy later.

“You know,” Rhoda said “I wouldn’t normally organize a day to town during the rainy season, but I don’t see any other option.”

“What do you mean?” Sebastian asked.

“I mean that we need another game board anyway! I’ve had this since you were young- I mean, sentiment is sentiment and all but- I really needed to get a new one anyway! We’ve lost half of the houses. Not to mention, there has been many new releases in that time- oh! I’m so excited!”

“As am I,” Ciel said. “I have to say, it is very rare to find someone as interested in a board game as I am.”

“Then we shall leave at once!” Rhoda declared.

“Mistress, you’ve been playing for five hours straight,” Ita said as she took her empty cup from the table and added it to the tray she balanced on her arm. “It’s time for supper, and the stores are closing soon. Perhaps it would be best to save the outing for tomorrow?”

Rhoda deflated visibly. “I suppose, when you put it like that, it does sound a tad bit silly to leave now. Very well, we’ll go tomorrow then! And this will be a perfect opportunity to show you the town,” she said, managing a smile in Ciel’s direction to punctuate her sentence.

Ciel gave a nod of agreement, the grin never leaving his face. “Indeed. I think it will be quite interesting.”

“Oh, goody then! Then, for tonight, I suppose I should start on supper,” she said.

“Mistress, please, there’s no need for that,” Ita said with a pleading expression.

“No worries! I’ll just start on it while you finish with this mess,” she said. “It’s no trouble.” Before Ita could protest, Rhoda was already skirting out the door with a smirk.

Ita looked from the door to the table and back to the door before pointing at the two of them and saying “Don’t touch it! I’m just getting some towels, then I’ll be back!” before she was rushing out of the room with a tray on her arm.

Ciel stood from the couch. “Well, I have to say, that was less awkward than I thought it was going to be. By the way, I should really tell her what that loose bolt was really about.”

“You saw that?” Sebastian asked with a raised eye brow.

“Indeed. It wasn’t like you were being sneaky about it. I wonder if she noticed as well.”

“It is possible, but I have to say that it is highly unlikely.”

“How so?” Ciel asked, turning to throw him a side glance.

“Let’s just say that that wasn’t the first tea set I’ve toppled as a last resort in this house.” Ciel let out a small, undignified, snort of laughter at that. “Might I ask what is so funny?”

“Nothing. It’s just that I remember quite the number of times you’ve told me not to make extra trouble for you and it turns out that you were just the same. Well, a clumsier version anyway, for I would not have been seen.”

“Is that a challenge, my lord?”

“Feel free to make of it what you will. However, I have no intentions of running through your mother’s house and breaking things in the idea of sport.”

“Just as I. However, I do feel it necessary to point out that we could simply compare our parts in past efforts and that would clearly show that I am far superior in terms of dexterity.”

“But that’s when you had the advantage of being a demon. Now the playing field has been evened out.”

“And you don’t believe that my experience will give me any advantage this time around?”

The two mirrored one another’s mischievous grins for some time. “We’ll see about that.”

* * *

The next day was one of both excitement and intrigue for Ciel. While he was curious to see what awaited him of the demon world, he was also a tad wary of the situation. He knew that Sebastian would be there if he needed help, but he thought he’d have more time to adjust to what he could see of the demon world before venturing out. But now, barely a week in, and he was walking down a sidewalk on a busy street. Sebastian held an umbrella over Ciel, Rhoda, and himself to protect them from the rain. In contrast, children took to the water easily as they ran through the streets, mothers chastising them when they muddied their trousers. There were demons of all shapes and sizes, all in seemingly human forms. Some of them, Rhoda greeted with a smile. Then, of course, Ciel’s worst fear just had to come to play. Rhoda stopped to talk to someone.

“Rhoda!” So it began as one woman called from her vending stall.

He looked over Sebastian, and caught a tired look painting itself over his face, while she ran over to the booth and called out, “Birgit! Good to see you!”

“Oi, yeah! Didn’t expect to see you out in the rainy season. Thought it got you down or somethin’ like that?” the woman asked. Then she looked over to Sebastian and Ciel and her red eyes flew wide open. “Oi! Ronan! That you?” She turned back to Rhoda. “That you’re first there, ay? He’s back?”

“Indeed he is!” Rhoda said with a proud nod. “Ronan, why don’t you come over and say hello?”

Sebastian stood rigidly and that same look of fear, still unfamiliar to Ciel, took over again. He stepped forward. “Good morning, Ms. Berne.”

“Ay, Ronan! Good to see ya!” she said. “I can’t believe you’re back in town! Whatever happened to running up to the surface and never coming back- huh? You were gonna live off a’ souls and nothing else- you and your brother! Not your cup of tea after all, ay?”

“Well, I stayed up there for some time,” he said. “I made quite a few contracts, but I suppose fate had a different route in store for me.”

“Aye, that it did. Well, good to see you’re back. Now, who’s this cutie?” she asked, looking over at Ciel.

He cringed, trying his best to hold a polite face as he realized that whatever world he lived in, there would always be someone who thought him a child.

“Come on, sweetheart! Don’t be shy!” she said, beckoning him from the stand as she leaned over the counter. She stopped and looked down at Rhoda. “One of yours, I’m guessin’?” she asked.

“Not exactly,” Rhoda said, now the one growing awkward in her movements as Ciel made his way over.

“Not exactly?” Birgit echoed as Ciel finally came over. “There he is! Now just wait one minute there, scamp, I’ve got something for all the little ones on the street.”

Sebastian looked down at Ciel from the corner of his eye. He knew that this was generally the part where he tried to shock the person making him upset either due to his height or age with some sort of trick, but he knew that anything like that down here would probably either have him scolded or chided with a simple brush off for his trouble. So, there was really nothing he could do but hope Ciel could hold out long enough to calm down on his own. Of course, this seemed unnecessary as Birgit returned and handed him a napkin-enclosed treat.

Ciel took it with interest, and looked it over before pulling back the wrapping to reveal a medium-sized sugar cookie with a smiley face drawn upon it with blue icing. He looked up at her with the same curiosity. No one had ever just handed him something before without there being some sort of money transaction. So he tried handing it back as he said, “I don’t have any money.”

“No trouble!” she said quickly, as if she’d been expecting it. “I do it for everyone every once in a while! It’s no big deal!”

He kept looking at her for a moment.

“Come on, scamp!” she said. “You act like no one’s ever just done you a favor before! Eat up!” He looked down at the cookie. She looked at him quizzically before leaning over to Rhoda and stage whispering, “Rhoda, what have you been doin’ to this kid?”

“He’s not really my son,” Rhoda said, leaning away slightly and avoiding her gaze.

“Oh,” Birgit said pulling back. She looked at Sebastian. “Yours then?”

“He’s not really a demon child,” Sebastian said quietly. “It’s somewhat hard to explain.”

She stopped him by holding up her hand and literally waving him off. “Oi! Don’t need none of that around here! I’m a bit dim, if ya don’t remember,” she said, looking at him with soft eyes. “I wouldn’t get half of what ya said, if any of it. Don’t waste your breathe.” She looked down at Ciel. “Enjoy that cookie then.”

Ciel looked up at her and said, “I will, thank you.”

“You’re welcome!” she chimed. “See ya later Rhoda!”

With that, she went back into the stall, and pots could be heard jamming about in the back. Sebastian began shuffling him forward with Rhoda in front.


	5. Storm Ahead

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After Ciel's interesting run in with a pleasant demon, it's time for him to meet the not so nice ones.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Fairly short chapter, I know, but there's a lot of information to compensate.

They walked for a small while in the calming rain, Ciel still palming the sweet in his hands. This didn’t escape the notice of his two traveling companions.

“Would you like me to put that in my purse?” she asked, pointing to the sweet. “You don’t exactly have a bag, and I’d hate for it to turn to crumbs before you at it..”

“No, it’s fine,” Ciel said, rewrapping it in its paper. “I’ll just put it in my pocket.” And that he did. After another small while of walking and looking at the strange demons they passed, he asked, “Is everyone down here that friendly?”

Rhoda straightened up and said, “Well, most try to be. We’re a really close community, you have to understand. Almost everyone knows everyone in this town, myself included.

“Of course, you have the occasional bad eggs,” Sebastian said. The way that he did so made it come out as a hiss and it caused Ciel to look up at him once more.

“But every community does!” Rhoda chimed in distraction.

Ciel was about to respond, when two boys ran past them. Attempted to, anyhow, for one of them ended up tripping on Sebastian’s leg when he tried going through the group, the other playing it safe by going around. This caused him to fall into a puddle on the stone sidewalk and let out a long wail, which brought the other boy back. Of course, the only thing Ciel could do was watch. The instance was so domestic, so surreal.

Rhoda was helping the boy who’d fallen up while a woman jogged down the street, carrying a large bag with her.

“Oh dear,” she said, scooping the boy into her arms. “Now, Grover, I told you not to go running down the street when there are people walking!”

“Sorry mama!” the boy sobbed while the boy at her feet looked up panicked.

The woman sighed. “Oh dear, come along, Clarence, your mother must be worried sick by now. We need to get you back home. Thank you, Rhoda, have a good day!” she called behind her.

“Same to you, Ginny!” Rhoda said with a wave as she stepped back under the umbrella, drying herself form the rain.

“Another mothering demon?” Ciel asked quietly.

“No,” Sebastian said. “You can shoot down that possibility very early on by looking at her eye color.”

“Eye color?” he asked. “What does that have to do with anything?”

“Well, to be honest, most things,” Rhoda said.

“Yes, you can tell a lot about a demon from their eyes alone,” Sebastian explained. “You see, the color of the eyes relates back to one of the first sins or, as you know then, the seven deadly sins.”

“Really?” he asked. “Such as pride, greed, and wrath?”

“Yes,” Rhoda said. “Then there’s lust, envy, sloth, and gluttony. Can’t forget them!”

“All flower demons are linked to pride,” Sebastian said. “So, if a demon’s eyes aren’t blue, then they can’t be a flower demon.”

“I see,” Ciel said. Then his eyes flew open in realization and he looked up to Sebastian and practically hissed, “Are you telling me that I’m going to be taking care  of children down here?”

Rhoda threw him an annoyed look as she asked, “And what’s wrong with that?”

“Nothing,” Sebastian answered for him with a forced smile, semi-stepping in between the two of them with his hands raised in peace. “Absolutely nothing! I’m just sure that he just wouldn’t prefer that kind of position!” He looked back down to Ciel. “But to answer your question, no. In fact that would be impossible, as there is a long and rigorous process a flower demon goes through from birth to perform their jobs at top condition. There are other things pride demons are linked to as well.” He looked away as he mumbled, “Of course, your eyes may not stay blue.”

“What?” Ciel asked, eye brows pinched in worry. “Do you mean my eyes will change color?”

 “They may change,” Sebastian began, “but that can only be said for certain when you go through your final stage as a demon. That is when you finally become a full fledged demon, thus getting a demonic form. It happens to most demons when they are teenagers. However, being that you’re a rare case, I myself have no idea when that will be,” Sebastian said. “As for your demonic form, I have no idea what it will be either.”

“Yes, and that’s good enough for now,” Rhoda said, much calmer than she was before.

“And how so?” Ciel asked. “I barely know a thing about my own physicality, and I still have plenty of questions.”

“And plenty of time to answer them!” she chimed softly. She started walking again, leading him and Sebastian to follow. I say, we should probably answer all of these questions at home. I know very well how personal they can get, especially when it comes to the specifics. Now that we’ve reached that territory, perhaps it would be best for Ronan to simply answer these questions for you.”

“Are you quite sure about that?” he asked.

“Indeed. Any demon is fit to answer any question about the transformation, not just mothers.”

“That brings up another question,” Ciel said. “How is it that that woman had children with her when she is not a mother demon? I thought that his was sort of a niche category.

“Oh, it is!” Rhoda said, turning to him slightly. Flower demons used to be the only demons to get children at all! A spot reserved solely for them! But demons are immortal, as you know, and with more of them going to earth to make contracts, there were more souls. Where there are more souls, there are more demons- more children to be precise.”

“So production went up so they had to expand their target audience,” he said, more to himself. Trying to relate it back to his old work as the owner of a toy company made it a bit easier to process the situation.

Rhoda, however, looked down at him with a confused smile. “I suppose so. Anyway, now any demon can sign up to be a parent. They even opened up the processing of flower demons to males- earning us a big strike for equality! It really livened up the place, in my opinion. I’m glad there are so many children down here now.” She let out a small sigh. “I have to say, I’m a bit upset. I don’t get that many special cases anymore where they need to double up- what with so many demons ready to become parents.” She turned around quickly and nearly pounced on Sebastian, grabbing one of his cheeks as she basically squealed out the words, “I’ll never get to relive my days of twins like I had with you, Ronan!”

“Mother- Mother, please!”

“Rhoda, so good to see you.” The long voice and thick French accent caused Rhoda’s grim on Sebastian to loosen and her arm to stiffen as she turned around. The man who was speaking was tall and well built. His irises were black, leaving more of a contrast to the rest of his eye, as well as his ashen skin and silvery hair. “I see that you haven’t changed much in the last- what was it now? Year you’ve been cooped up in your house?”

Rhoda’s face hardened as she clenched her teeth. “Well, perhaps I had to spend some time out after seeing you, Mr. Gagnon.”

Ciel watched her face darken before flicking his eyes up to Sebastian. He was about to ask who this man was, when he saw the look that was painted there. It was a face he’d only seen on Sebastian once before, when they were fighting with the reapers and he’d been brutally injured by the Undertaker’s scythe. He looked pained and even, dare Ciel say it, scared of the man before him.

The man in question, whom Rhoda had referred to as Mr. Gagnon, looked over her shoulder at him. It was quite unnecessary, considering how short she was in comparison to them both. Ciel almost shuddered at how Sebastian seemed to shrink at this man’s stare.

“Wait a minute… crow? Oh what was it… Ronan? Is that you?” Mr. Gagnon said before letting out a deep chuckle. “Oh dear, look at how tall you’ve gotten.”

He tried to step around Rhoda, but she stepped in front of him again, staring up at him with feral eyes. Ciel saw, for the first time, that they’d grown that familiar purple-magenta that used to capture Sebastian’s so well.

Rhoda and Mr. Gagnon held eye contact for some time. In this time, he also realized how still the street had grown. Mothers were holding their children by the shoulders and slowly steering them away. Some shops had closed their shudders. Demons were trying to casually flee the scene, others simply averted their eyes. The only sound was that of water drumming and trickling into the puddles around them and the quiet hush of the wind. Something was wrong.

“Good day, Mr. Gagnon,” Rhoda said, her eyes flicking back to blue.

“And to you as well, Rhoda,” he said, tipping his hat with a small grin. As he walked past, his eyes lingered on Ciel. HE looked back up to Rhoda. “Do me a favor will you? Keep an eye on this one. You know, better than the last time?” His grin grew into a full smile, and he was gone.

It wasn’t until he was long out of sight that the street returned to normal, as if the man hadn’t been there at all. Children went back to playing, and the noise signaled shops to open up again. Even Sebastian seemed relieved and Rhoda sagged a bit, exhausted.

“Who was that?” he asked. No one responded. “What did he mean to keep an eye on me? What happened the last time? Who was he?”

Rhoda looked down and smiled softly at him. “Remember darling,” she said, “some things are better left said at home. Certainly not here.” Ciel wasn’t happy with the answer, but there wasn’t any room for argument as she pulled out her own, rather small umbrella from her rather large bag. “I’ll tell you what, why don’t you two have a walk around the park? Huh? You can discuss whatever you please, and I’ll go get the game myself!” Her cheery demeanor fell as she looked at Sebastian. “As long as, you’ll be alright?”

Sebastian went from crestfallen to cheerful in a matter of minutes. “Mother, I can manage for my own. I assure you.”

She nodded and smiled again. “Very good! I’ll see you at noon, we can catch the ferry then!” she said, trotting off to whatever store she would eventually retrieve the game.

Sebastian smiled down at Ciel when she was gone and asked, “Shall we go to the park, my lord?”

Ciel gave a small pout, but nodded and followed him all the same. As soon as they were at this park, he could ask all of the questions he needed.

Just who was this Mr. Gagnon?


	6. Bad Memories

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sebastian and Rhoda discuss some things from their past.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry, but I'd really hate for anyone to get triggered. Please watch out for light hints at child abuse.

The park was much different from what Ciel had expected. The dense forestry and shrubs that painted that of British parks was replaced with wide open spaces and winding paths. Flowers wilted from the surplus of water, but the irises and turtleheads flourished in the soggy soil.

It was these things  that Ciel glanced over as he asked the question, “So, who was that man?”

Sebastian didn’t respond immediately. His face was grim, as if he’d expected the question from the beginning. “He’s a man,” he started, “who I knew as a child.”

“I know that much,” Ciel said, “but what was going on with all of that anger back there? I thought your mother was going to rip his head off as soon as she saw him.”

“Oh, she’s tried,” he said. “Unfortunately, there were certain laws to protect against that sort of thing.”

“You feel that strongly then? What happened exactly?” They came to a full stop. “What could have been so bad- so much worse than what we’ve been through- that you can’t tell me what happened?”

Sebastian didn’t look down at him. He simply looked ahead. “I do apologize, my lord. In truth, when I think about it, it wasn’t as awful as some of the things I’ve seen with you, or through your eyes.” Ciel smirked on the inside, thinking he’d have his way. “Unfortunately, I don’t believe I will ever tell you what exactly happened. Unless, of course, you were to order me to.”

Ciel, impatient with the situation, nearly did just that. Then he looked up into Sebastian’s eyes. They weren’t coy, like they usually were when he asked him to give him an order. This time, they were quite hollow in a way. The more he looked into those murky red eyes, he couldn’t think of saying the words. Instead, he scoffed and turned his head away.

“I would never stoop to such a thing,” he said. “You’ll tell me one day, of your own accord. I have enough patience to wait until then.”

Sebastian’s eyes sparked with surprise, and then they closed as his mouth formed a smile. “Very well then, my lord. What else would you like to discuss? Perhaps you would like to know more about Hell’s class system? Or The Sins themselves?” The change of subject was very much accepted by Ciel, who allowed it.

“What about your government?” Ciel asked. “Monarchy? Democracy?”

Sebastian squinted in thought as they started walking again. “I’m not sure if you have a type of government that reflects our own. You see, Hell is run in a business-like manor. We have seven coexisting leaders who oversee the inner workings from different points.”

“One for each sin?” he guessed.

“Indeed. The pride demon would be the one you know as Lucifer. He’s known as the main one of the seven. Of course, he can’t do everything on his own. That would be where the other seven come in.”

“Pride as a leader?” Ciel said with a breath of laughter. “That doesn’t sound too bright.”

“You don’t know the half of it,” Sebastian said with a chuckle. “They have Mammon in charge of money, and Asmodeus- Well, I suppose she’s the only one that truly fits in with her line of work- but they certainly had a bit of a mix up in putting Belphegor in charge of Hell’s security.”

“Sorry, who are these demons?” Ciel asked.

Sebastian looked down for some time before smiling up and saying, “I never thought I’d have to educate you on something that would actually matter. But, If you’re going to be staying down here, then I don’t see any other way.”

* * *

 

That night, when Ciel was tucked into bed, Sebastian didn’t find Rhoda in her room. Instead, she was in the kitchen, leaning against the counter with a tired expression. She’d retrieved her game, they’d missed the ferry, they’d gone home. She said they’d try tomorrow, but he knew how drained she could be from such a simple outing. Especially after meeting with him.

“Oh, Ronan,” she said, spotting him in the doorway. She painted on one of her fake smiles that she used to use all the time, one that radiated that everything was alright in the world. “Please, come in! Make yourself some tea.”

“No thank you,” Sebastian said. “I really was never one for eating.”

“Oh, that’s right,” she said, nodding. “Well, unless they were sweets!”

He mirrored her grin as he said, “Only if you made them.” She let out a satisfied hum as she took a sip of her drink. She avoided his eyes. “You’re doing it again,” he said.

Rhoda snapped to look back at him as if he was accusing her. “Doing what?” she asked.

“You’re not looking at me. It’s almost as if you’re trying not to think about what happened today. With Gagnon in the street?” he said.

She shook her head and looked down. “I just- I just _hate_ that man! He’s such a horrid creature!” Rhoda said, shaking her head furiously as she slammed the large mug on the counter. “He thinks he owns everything- thinks he can threaten me- thinks he can threaten _you!_ He has no right!”

He raised his hands, attempting to reach out for her. “Mother, please calm do-”

“He _had_ no right!”

“Mother-!”

“He had no right to _touch you!”_ she said, looking him dead in the eye before flinging herself against the counter and putting her head into her arms.

Though he could not see her face, he noticed that he could now see more of his mother than he ever could. And, for the first time in his life, he thought about how old she was. How fragile she was. Her hair was graying, and her posture only saw to make her seem smaller than she was. He sighed deeply as he  laid down on the counter to her right, laying his left arm over her back as her body was racked with sobs and ragged breaths. The situation was similar to the other times she’d been this upset, though it was usually his brother doing the calming.

“It’s okay mother. You just need to calm down. I know exactly how you feel.”

She took his hand into her own as her sobs subsided. She pulled herself up to her elbows, much like him, as she said, “It’s just not _fair!_ Why you? Why did he have to hurt _you?_ Why did he have to find you that day and _hurt_ you? Why couldn’t they _do_ anything about it? Why?” She sniffled. “It’s not _fair.”_

“I know,” he said. “Believe me. I still can’t look at those demons again without feeling the way I do. There’s a deep hatred I hold simply for them, though I know they don’t deserve it.”

“No, they don’t deserve it!” she yelled, looking at him. “But it’s tough for them, because _you_ didn’t deserve it either!” She squeezed his hand and looked away. “We still don’t deserve it.”

“I know,” Sebastian said. A few moments of silence followed and they stayed in the same exact position with Sebastian trying to send a calming signal through his hand. The effort was technically something impossible, but Rhoda did seem to relax regardless. “Is he still living next door?”

“Of course he is,” she said as she turned to him. “Of course he’s still next door. But I’ve gone a step farther. I built a _wall.”_

“A wall?”

“A wall. It’s a good one, sturdy. Better than that old fence he put around his property. None of my pups would dare to try climbing over it, balls can’t even go over it, it’s all secure.” She looked away again, as if she could see that very wall through the dark and the rain outside of the window. “And what about you? I can tell he still scares you. After all of this time.”

Sebastian frowned slightly as he tried to figure out a good response. “I wasn’t scared; I was simply startled. I hadn’t seen him in some time and had forgotten about him.”

“We don’t forget men like Mr. Gagnon, little one,” she said. It was startling as the age he’d noticed in her appearance also came into her voice slightly and she turned to him with old eyes. “We simply push the memory as far as it can go until something triggers it. Then, poof! It’s at the forefront of your memory and it won’t go away.” She released his hand and slipped off the counter to pick up her mug and lean against the old oven. “I won’t be going out again for some time, you know what it does to me. As for you two, please leave any time you'd like, don't let me stop you.” She looked up. “But please, Ronan, stay away from Gagnon.” Her knuckles turned white around the handle of the mug. “I _still_ have nightmares about that day. I’ve never _seen_ such a violent transformation. No demon _-_ no _child!_ No child should have to transform under those conditions.”

He stared down wistfully and nodded. “I don’t think my lord would have any reason to leave. Even so I believe that, if I hadn’t been caught off guard as I was, I would have no trouble with Mr. Gagnon.”

“Oh is that so?” Rhoda said with a smile. She walked over and pecked him on the cheek, taking one hand to pull his face up to look at her. “Don’t worry, Ronan. It’s okay to be scared. It always was. You have me to help if you need any of it. There’s no need to put on a brave face.”

He smiled and placed a hand over the one that rested on his cheek. “Indeed. But what kind of son would I be if I had to rely on my mother at every given moment?”

She let out a small puff of laughter. “And what kind of mother would I be if I didn’t allow you to do just that?” she asked with a small smile. The smile fell quickly, as did her hand, and she stepped back, setting the mug on the counter. “I’m sorry, I simply must retire. I haven’t felt this tired in a long time.” It wasn’t a physical rest that she needed, but she knew that a small rest would help. She smiled again as she whispered, “Good night,” and left the room.

This left Sebastian alone. There he could walk over to the window and stare out. At this distance, along with aid of his actual demon eyes, he could actually see the wall. He’d expected a sturdy stone wall, and that it was. But there was no danger radiating from it, as it was covered in drawings from children, hand prints and names. If things had been better, he would have smiled at the fact that this wall matched this old castle much more than he did. As things were, he stared out and remembered the time when that wall was little more than a fence. A fence he found easy to climb over, though he was never supposed to.

His hand flew to his cheek and his shoulder as the memory slipped into his mind. He hated that memory, and he wished that he really could forget it. That horrid memory that crept into his mind every time his young lord would remind him of his title- every playful bark, every dog he saw in the streets. Every one of these things reminded him of the eldest guard dog of all. Cerberus Gagnon, Hell’s best-known general. Demon of wrath and the conqueror of the underworld. The titles brought on a new surge of memories and Sebastian snapped to look back, thinking there was someone behind him. There was no one there. Newly tired himself, he decided he would walk up to his old room. After all, it seemed better than looking at some old wall.


	7. New Knowledge

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ciel walks in on Sebastian at his worst. Also, he finds out something about his demon's eye color.

Ciel awoke, feeling as though he hadn’t rested quite as long as he did two nights prior. He took up the matches on the nightstand to his left and lit the candle sitting there, surprised to see a familiar object right next to the candle.

Sitting there was the cookie, white paper contrasting with the dark wood. He picked it up slowly only to set it down again. Something felt off about the house, which was what had caused him to startle himself awake. He wondered briefly where Sebastian was but, instead of calling for him, he decided to go looking for him. He slipped his feet into the slippers he’d seen at the edge of the bed and grabbed the robe from where it hung on the closet door before stringing it tightly around his midsection. As he grabbed the candle from the nightstand, he grabbed the cookie as well. It was more as a fleeting thought, but he thought it would be best to take it with him.

Slowly, he crept out of the room and down the hall. He thought he might try the drawing room for Sebastian, or even the parlor, but the idea of searching these places flew from his mind when he noticed the light coming from the room just beside his.

It was the faint light of a candle that beckoned him inside of the room. There he saw Sebastian, stripped of his blazer and tie loose from where it hung around his neck. Ciel stepped in. Though he could only see his back, he had a feeling that Sebastian was upset over something. When he was halfway to the bed, he stepped on a creaky floor board, the sound cutting through the light drumming of the rain on the windows.

He didn’t even have the time to blink before Sebastian was already two feet in front of him, claws poised and eyes glowing. Ciel flinched back as he stared up him, wondering if he was really going to harm him. The taller demon stood up from his defensive position and stepped back slightly.

“I- I apologize, young master,” he said, trying to look away. “I did not hear you come in. It’s still quite late, almost midnight. I can tuck you back into bed if you wish.” He tried plastering one of his signature smiles onto his face, but Ciel wasn’t buying it.

“Sebastian,” he said, “have you been crying?”

Sebastian, surprised by the question, touched his face. There he found that his cheeks were wet, and guessed that Ciel could make them out just barely in this light.

“Oh yes, terribly sorry, my lord. Did I awake you?” he asked.

“Don’t apologize for crying,” Ciel said, walking forward. “You didn’t wake me up, but you shouldn’t apologize for crying. I know that I must have awakened you with worse.”

Oh how the tables had turned from when they first started living together. Instead of Sebastian rushing in to deal with his nightmares, now Ciel had caught him crying over silly things from his past. Sebastian took his hand to his eye with a fond smile gracing his lips, a real smile.

“I suppose that’s true. Of course, I never thought of it as a true inconvenience. It was simply a bit of an annoyance on top of the other duties,” he said.

Sebastian, now standing tall, looked nothing like he had when Ciel walked in. His feet were poised together and he was even straightening his tie and refastening his cufflinks.

“Now, my lord, what do you say I get you dressed? Then we can start on your lessen for the day. Perhaps you can even memorize the seven leader’s names before my mother awakens. I know that we won’t get much else done after that, considering how excited she was to get that board game.”

Ciel didn’t like how easily Sebastian fit his mask into place as he dusted off his blazer and slipped on his pure white gloves. The mask seemed so familiar to him, yet quite unlike the one he wore long ago. Either way, he was glad that Sebastian was back to his usual self. Something still gnawed at him, however, like he wasn’t supposed to be helping Sebastian forget. Almost as if something horrible would happen if Sebastian forgot all together.

It didn’t really matter. Sebastian was back to normal, and there was so much to learn about Hell. He didn’t have time to worry about bad feelings regarding the future, even if they were all true.

So, he brushed them off and took the cookie out of his pocket before Sebastian took off his robe. He unwrapped it before taking a stiff bite.

* * *

 

The three demons fell into a steady rhythm all their own over the next few weeks. Sebastian and Ciel would wake up early, study for a few hours, and then join Rhoda in the drawing room. There Ciel learned how to play many new board games while Sebastian attempted not to squirm from discomfort as he and Rhoda quarreled like children over the rules. Then it was more lessens and straight to supper. They didn’t have to eat, so it continue to annoy Ciel as to why Rhoda served dinner. Why dinner of all meals? Why did she skip breakfast and lunch? This question was never answered, mostly because he felt it too stupid to ask.

They were in the middle of their second lesson of the day, Rhoda and Ita somewhere else in the house- probably arguing over the fact that Ita was getting paid to make food and Rhoda wanting to do it herself.

“So, Mammon is Greed, Beelzebub is Gluttony, Belphegor is sloth and Asmodeus is Lust?” Ciel listed. It had been two weeks and they were still working on the leaders. Sebastian saw it fit to refresh this list every day, lest Ciel forget it. They’d learned the class system going in order of pride, lust, wrath, envy, greed, gluttony, and sloth. Ciel had also heard a bit of history. There were tales of rebellious demons and how the class system had dissipated greatly, even more so since he’d left.

“Indeed!” Sebastian said. “And who is envy?”

“Leviathan, correct?” Ciel said. “Lucifer is pride and Satan is wrath.”

“Very good, you’re already doing quite well,” he said. “Soon, we’ll be able to drop this from our teaching entirely, earning us at least two extra minutes of time to work on something else.”

“Speaking of something else,” Ciel began, “Can I learn about the colors now?”

Sebastian turned around with a confused expression. “I’m sorry my lord, the colors?”

“Yes, you know the eye colors?” he specified. “You explained that blue was pride but that was it, and it was weeks ago. If my eyes may change, I’d like to learn more about what they may be.”

“Very well then. Let’s start with what you think the colors are,” he said.

Ciel hated guessing games, and Sebastian knew it. Regardless, he thought on it for a while. “Well, envy is green, there’s no doubt about that. Besides green, I know I’ve seen red, orange, yellow, and black- that I can remember. Let’s see. I would think yellow fits in with greed, but I can’t really name the other three for sure.”

Sebastian grinned and let out a pleased hum. “Well, you aren’t wrong about greed and envy. Orange is gluttony, and wrath would be black.” He began chalking it up on the board behind him, letting there be a visual to match what he was saying.

“So what’s red then?” Sebastian tensed, knowing he should have dragged this lesson on longer. Now it was too late. With five of the seven down, it wasn’t very hard to pin. “No way,” Ciel said, letting a true laugh take over. “Oh my- you can’t be serious! It’s lust isn’t it? Oh my gosh, that is priceless!”

Sebastian had never seen Ciel laugh this hard, aside from brief moments where he was mocking someone. Now, Sebastian was on the other end of the spectrum.

“It isn’t quite as funny as you may think,” he said. “As I stated a few weeks ago, we are very respected demons.”

“Respected by whom? Brothels?” Ciel continued, letting his sharp laughter die down into a fit of chuckles. “Honestly, I never thought you’d be- oh what was it again? That demon my governess used to tell me about? A siren? Are you a siren?”

“Sirens are a part of mythology, not demons,” Sebastian said, stone faced. “I believe you’re thinking of a succubus.”

“Succubus!” Ciel said, laughing even harder. “That was it! That was it!”

“That’s only a branch of the lust demons!” he said, getting a bit angry with his young lord, who was close to falling out of his chair at this point. “There are other types to, and we work quite hard. I’ll have you know that we’re the first in line when it comes to human relations and making contracts! We are charismatic and-” he stopped talking, resigning to let out a long, tired sigh. “You know, I don’t even understand what you find so funny in all of this. It’s quite immature.”

Ciel stopped laughing as hard as he was at the word, it triggering something inside of him. “Oh really now? You find what I’m doing to be immature?”

“Indeed, my lord,” Sebastian said. “After all, lust has absolutely nothing to do with sex.”

“Oh really, then what is it then?” Ciel asked.

Sebastian remained dignified as he started erasing the board and taking it down. “If you must know, the definition of lust would be ‘uncontrolled yearning or desire for.’ It has nothing to do with sexual natures of any sort!”

“Still, I don’t think it fits you,” Ciel said with a small smile. It fell as he thought more about the phrase. “If anything, I’d think it reminds me of Claude.”

Sebastian dropped the board rather ungracefully, only to catch it before it hit the ground. He’d really been off his mark as of late, but that statement was just too much. He set the easel back up quietly before rushing over to come face to face with Ciel, glaring down at him with as much fury as he could muster.

“Claude is a demon of gluttony. He is nothing like a lust demon and, therefore, nothing like me. Do you understand that much?” he asked.

“I understand that,” Ciel said.

Sebastian stepped back, keeping his hands on either arm of the chair. He raised an eyebrow. “You do?”

“Of course, he’s nothing like you. If he was, I would gladly order you off at this very moment. I wouldn’t be able to stand the sight of you,” Ciel said. “Frankly, I would say I was just a bit too happy when you killed him.”

The smile that traced his lips was soon mirrored by Sebastian as the demon stood back from the chair entirely. “I see. I apologize my lord. Surely you must understand how it would feel to have such a personal matter compared to someone like that.”

“Of course,” Ciel said as he stood. “Honestly though, I still don’t think the term ‘uncontrollable desire’ suits you at all. In fact, if I’d known about this whole class system before hand, I might think you were one of pride.”

Sebastian chuckled. “Perhaps I was once on the path to becoming a pride demon Though, that hardly matters now.” He once again picked up the board before leaning it against the wall in the closet. “Tell me, my lord,” he said as he grabbed the chair, “would you be upset if your eyes did change color? If you followed a path that differed from pride?”

Ciel tilted his head in thought. “I don’t think I would be upset,” he said finally. “Upset isn’t the right word. Perhaps it would take some time to get used to, but I would be fine for the most part. Tell me though, Sebastian, what do you think I will get?” he asked as Sebastian exited the closet and gently closed the door behind him.

He looked down at Ciel and smirked. “A human who lived in aristocracy and holds himself is such a high regard as to get offended at the slightest comment on his height or age? Pride is the only path I see for you, my lord.”

Ciel was about to snap at the comment, but he realized that would only prove Sebastian’s point and huffed. “We’ll see about that then.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So we're finally getting into Sebaciel! Please tell me what you think of my color/class system in the comments and, for those of you who are wondering, sloth is purple. They'll talk about this off screen (so to speak) so now you know too!  
> Here's to hoping for another lighthearted chapter next time!


	8. A day in the Rain

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ciel and Sebastian opt to spending the day outside.

It was raining lighter today, but it was still not what Ciel would call “light weather”. The rain was relentless. He’d heard of rainy seasons, but this was ridiculous. Truly the hell of Ireland, and it was a good reason for why he never visited the country. Sebastian, however, didn’t seem to mind as they walked through streets up and down the town. Some demons waved hello to him, and he smiled back. Ciel realized, once again, how their roles had switched. Now Ciel was the invisible one, the one no one knew or cared to talk to. At least, that’s what he thought.

As if to prove his invisibility theory right, a child ran right into him, knocking him back into Sebastian. Luckily, the domino effect didn’t continue, for the demon caught him swiftly.

“Oh! Sorry sir!” the boy said before taking off.

Ciel growled lightly. “Sebastian, why does this town have so many children in it?”

“Well, my lord,” Sebastian began as he set him upright, keeping the umbrella over their heads, “Ireland’s underworld has come to be known as a place for children to communicate with other demons, due to the population density being so high. It would be much easier to raise a child with other people around and nearby shops, correct?”

Ciel nodded. “So it’s become something of a suburban community more than anything else?” he asked.

“Indeed, which has only attracted more demons who wish to settle and raise families.”

“I see.” It wasn’t too long after this that another group of children darted past them, this one bigger than the last, probably chasing the boy from before. This time, Sebastian pulled Ciel to his side to avoid the children, along with the splatter that their thundering footsteps in the large puddles caused.

“I must admit, I don’t remember this many children when I was a pup. The school must have grown considerably since I left to accommodate this many children,” Sebastian said.

“Why do you do that?” Ciel asked, staying close to Sebastian. “You call one child a pup, but if there are many of them, you call them children.”

“Well, technically, pup is a term my mother has implanted in my head. Almost everyone uses it in this area. Otherwise, they are simply children. What else would we call the plural form? Pups?”

“Well, I would think so,” Ciel said. “It makes more sense in my opinion.”

Sebastian hummed with laughter. “And my young lord’s opinion is law? Isn’t that the only truth?”

Ciel gave him a half glare. “Have you ever known another?”

Sebastian chuckled again at the banter before they moved down a familiar road to the park they’d walked through before. They’d taken to walking through it once a week, if only to get some fresh air. Ciel wondered how Hell could have fresh air at all. Wasn’t this supposed to be a place of suffering? Nope. Instead, it was a place with a stable government, a growing economy, and beautiful parks.

They didn’t dare sit on the ground, far too wet for either of their liking. Instead, they took the time to stop by a wide lake Ciel had caught sight of one day. He was glad that the waters weren’t made of fire, or made of blood. Instead, it looked so tranquil.

“This place is so much different from what I thought it would be,” he said as they took the time to rest, both of them staring deep into the pond’s reflective surface. “I never thought I’d end up in Hell, to be honest with you.”

Sebastian threw him a curious glance before turning back to the water. “And what exactly did you think would happen to you?”

“Well,” Ciel began, “I personally thought that I was just going to be digested.”

Sebastian lets out a chuckle. “Really my lord? You thought it was that simple? I would have received some nutrition from your soul, but demons don’t have digestive tracks.”

“No, I suppose not,” Ciel said, leaning more towards him. “I would have ended up down here either way. There would have been no avoiding it.” He continued to stare down at the lake. “And do you know what?” Sebastian looked down at him, and Ciel smiled. “I’m glad I didn’t.”

Sebastian’s smile held as he started leading them away again. “I’m glad you’ve found happiness down here, my lord. By the way, would you like to see if we can catch the ferry after all? We did miss it the first time.”

“Wouldn’t your mother be upset that we didn’t have her with us?” Ciel asked.

“Sadly, my mother is quite drained by social interactions outside of those she knows quite well. It’s only made worse by this horrible weather, which keeps her inside through the season. She went out with us a few times, but my brother and I were mostly watched by other parents, that is even if we left the house during the rainy season,” he explained. “So, I don’t think that she’ll be willing to leave her home for some time.”

“Why doesn’t she just move?” Ciel asked. “I mean, yes her house would be hard to find somewhere else, but why not just move somewhere else if the weather is that emotionally draining?”

Sebastian nodded slowly as he thought of how to respond. “Well, my lord, you must understand a few things about my mother. She is a very strong headed woman. She chose Ireland’s underworld due to the fact that it is the same country she lived in when she was a mortal, this is the same reason for why she had her house built in the way that it is. She planned everything out with a reason and so, in her mind, it’s perfect. Of course, she thought of moving in the past. But now she stays here as a symbol of how nothing can change her mind once she is set to it. At least, that’s the story I’ve come up with for it.”

“Okay and that brings up another question. She lived in a castle?” Ciel asked. “Was she a queen or a noble of sorts?”

Sebastian shook his head. “I’d rather not answer that question my lord.” He placed a finger over his lips. “Such personal stories should flow from the horse’s mouth. Wouldn’t you agree?”

Ciel’s eye lids closed over half of his eyes as he stared up at Sebastian. “Why? Is it something bad? Would I know her from somewhere?”

“Probably not, no,” Sebastian said, moving his finger. “However, I still think that such a story should really be left for my mother to tell you. I’m sure she would be happy to if you asked. I’ll even take some time out of our lesson for you to ask.”

“And what will you be doing in the mean time?” Ciel asked with a coy smile.

“Well, someone has to argue with Ita over who is going to prepare dinner.”

Ciel chuckled. They kept walking for some time before Ciel said, “You know, I think I’d rather like taking the ferry today.”

“Very good then, my lord, we shall make our way there at once.”

“Wait a moment, don’t you need money?” Ciel asked. “Come to think of it, I’m not quite sure how you paid that coachman to get us here.”

“Oh, my young lord, you have much to learn about demonic currency,” Sebastian said. “But that can wait for our next lesson. For now, allow us to get to the dock before the ferry departs.”

Sebastian walked with him. They weren’t running, but they were walking quicker, so much so that Ciel hardly noticed when his foot launched out from underneath him in a puddle. Luckily, Sebastian’s arm shot out to catch him just in time, pulling him back up and close.

“I say, do you really have so much trouble with puddles, my lord?” Sebastian joked, pulling him along again as they continued down the park’s pathway.

Ciel, flustered, decided to ignore the red rising to his face as he said, “Of course not!”

“Well then, care to prove it?”

“How so?” Ciel asked, quirking an eyebrow and brandishing a coy grin. “Are you suggesting a race?”

“Do you believe you can beat me in a race, my lord? If so then, by all means call one to order,” Sebastian said as they stopped again. “We can go to the park’s entrance. That is, if you really do believe you can beat me, and if you don’t mind getting a bit wet.”

Ciel grinned. “Well then, let’s go.”

He didn’t care if what he did was childish, that being taking an unfair head start. Normally, he wouldn’t be faster than Sebastian, but he noticed how much faster he was moving than when he normally ran. He felt freer than ever before down here. He didn’t have to worry about his asthma, or what his business associates would think if they saw him running free like he was. The only thing he had to worry about was getting to the exit before Sebastian.

Sebastian, on the other hand, was catching up quickly. Ciel tried to accelerate further, but it just seemed impossible to go faster than he was. Soon, they crossed into a wooded area of the park, a small area the path crossed into.

Sebastian was at his side in no time. “I don’t mean to be a bother, my lord,” he said, barely breaking a sweat, “but I do believe it would be impossible for you to beat me, even with that tricky head start. You’re just not quite as developed as I am, in both skill and strength. It may be best for you to give up right now rather than over exerting yourself.”

Ciel didn’t look at him. Instead, he felt itching to try something else, anything else. That was when he leapt up and rocketed off of the trunk of a tree. He was jumping from tree to tree, zigzagging his way through, going like this, as opposed to simply straight ahead running, seemed to be a lot faster. It even caught Sebastian by surprise. He saw the exit coming up, and turned over his shoulder to shoot a winning grin back at his opponent. That was his mistake.

When he reached the last of the trees, he ended up launching himself out of the park. It would have counted as a win, if Sebastian hadn’t exited at that exact moment to catch him, resulting in a tie. However, the catch was a little clumsy. He was used to catching Ciel from things like, jumping out of crumbling buildings, falling over a banister, and even being thrown out of windows. But he wasn’t used to catching Ciel when he was moving at this speed at this angle. This resulted in them falling backwards with Ciel on top and Sebastian bashing his head on the hard ground. It didn’t hurt, but the cold water seeped up through his back. This hardly mattered, however, as water had already soaked them both thoroughly. So the only down side was how quickly the wind was knocked out of him.

“I apologize my lord,” Sebastian said, managing not to groan. “At the least, I do believe that we tied in our race.”

Ciel opened his eyes from where he was laying on Sebastian’s chest, actively nursing a head ache. As he sat up, he realized that he  was sitting with a leg on either side of Sebastian’s midsection. He didn’t seem to mind as he groaned and asked, “Ugh, how are you not hurt while I am?”

“My lord, you are still not a developed demon,” Sebastian reminded him as he pulled himself up to his elbows, looking up at Ciel with yet another grin. “I can take much harder hits than that.”

They were extremely close and Ciel was growing increasingly bothered by their proximity. He was about to comment on such, when a fog horn cut through the air.

“Oh drat,” Sebastian said, looking away. “Pardon my language young master, but I do believe that was our ferry. I’m afraid we’ll have to wait another day.”

“It doesn’t matter,” Ciel said, already standing up.  He brushed himself off with a large smile  as he said, “If it’s true that I’m not as developed as you are, then the fact that I beat you in a race at this level means that I’m going to be stronger than you as a full demon.”

“But you didn’t beat me, my lord,” Sebastian said, smiling as he stood. “I seem to recall telling you that we tied, which we did. Down to the last second, I’m afraid. Not to mention, you got a bit of a head start, as unfair as it was.”

“Excuses excuses,” Ciel said. Suddenly, a chill ripped through his body and he realized that he was soaking wet. His arms flew to his sides as he suppressed his teeth from chattering.

Sebastian shook his head and sighed. “Come, my lord. Allow us to return home. I’m sure my mother will be simply ecstatic at seeing you and I drenched,” he said as he got closer, the umbrella forgotten at his side. Its purpose was nonexistent now that they were already wet.

“Let’s just hope she doesn’t threaten to bathe you again.”

* * *

 

So it was another shared bath between the two of them before Ciel was tucked into bed again. As he lay there in the dark, waiting for sleep to come, he heard the thunder crack outside and thought of the day he’d just had. In the human world, such a fun day would be marked down as a day wasted.

He thought about this for some time, before simply smiling and rolling over. _No,_ he thought, _Hell certainly isn’t that bad after all._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay so, for the next chapter, we'll be focusing a bit more on Rhoda's back story. Hope this doesn't rub you guys the wrong way, but I hope it will open her up a bit more.  
> Also: I think this is the third chapter I've posted today??? Yea. Please don't expect this in the future. I can't live up to those kind of standards. :(


	9. Chapter 9

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This chapter majorly focuses on Rhoda's back story. You can skip it if you would like, however, I would highly advise against it.

Ciel walked down the hall and opened the door to the drawing room to find Rhoda propped up on the couch, reading through some old book. The pages were yellowed, corners fallen out from being dog eared by those trying to save their place. Rhoda did just that, folding the corner over as she saw Ciel come in.

“Oh, Ciel! Did Ronan finish early with you? Where is he?” She set the book down and stood up as she said, “Oh! Supper’s going to start soon; I should get down to help Ita!”

“Actually, Rhoda,” Ciel began, “Sebastian- er- Ronan said he was going to help tonight. So that I could ask you something.”

She gave him a skeptical look as she fell back into the sofa. Ciel walked over and set across from her.

“Well? What was it you wanted to ask? Is it about your demonic form? Because, well, I’ve never guessed correctly when it comes to my own children!” she said with a laugh. “Oh, there was this one boy who I thought would grow up to be a lion! Oh boy, was I embarrassed when he turned out to be a sheep demon! Oh my, ha-ha!”

“Actually,” Ciel said, “I just wanted to ask you a few questions about your past.”

She sat rigid. “Well you’re going to have to be more specific than that.”

“Sebastian said that you lived in this castle when you were a mortal. You know, before you sold your soul and became a demon. When I asked him who you were, he said that I should ask you, and he refused to say anything else.”

Rhoda nodded slowly. “Yes, he knows everything about that. Of course, I never told him willingly. He figured it out on his own.” She sighed. “You see, when Ronan and Pierce were boys, I would tell them stories of a beautiful princess who was cursed by a witch. She was saved by a fairy, and ran off with her prince to live happily ever after.”

Ciel’s eyes flew open. “And you were the princess then?”

“No,” Rhoda said, looking away. “I was the fairy.” She smiled at Ciel as tears filled her eyes. “You see, back in my time, royals rarely cared for their own children. I’m not sure how earth works today, but they generally hired maids to watch them. They liked to hire maids who could nurse so that the mother wouldn’t be held by any obligations, you understand. I’d recently had a still born, so they hired me.”

“Still born?” Ciel echoed. He looked down, not really knowing how to respond. “I’m sorry.”

“No, it’s fine,” she said. “It happened all the time back then. I was upset, of course, but then a true gift was given to me. Nothing would replace my baby, but now I had a little girl I could watch and care for. I fed her, dressed her, and did everything I could to make her happy.”

“So why did you sell your soul?” he asked.

Rhoda froze and took in a deep breath. “One day, she grew sick. Very sick. I was stuck moping around, not even able to be at her side. It wasn’t my place to mourn her. Instead, I took to the kitchen. That’s when I heard rumors of a witch cursing the children of the town.”

“And you summoned a demon to get rid of her?”

She held up a hand, to signal him to stop talking. He did just that, noting how difficult this looked for her. “No, I didn’t sell my soul. I didn’t believe in witchcraft, and all ideas of religion disappeared from my mind. I knew that there was a woman living in the woods and, since she showed up, children had been getting sick. So, I wanted nothing more than to kill her with my own hands.” Her eyes grew dark. “Unfortunately, it wasn’t just some woman. It wasn’t a witch, either. It was a demon.”

* * *

 

Her gown swept against the trees as Rhoda moved in on the cottage in middle of the forest. She pulled the kitchen knife from her belt and walked closer, peaking in through the window once she’d gotten close enough. Inside, she saw nothing. Absolutely nothing. There was no bed, there was no pot, there was no woman. Or so she thought.

Suddenly, a hand snatched at her wrist, causing the knife to clatter to the ground as she was wrenched up.

“They’ve sent knights after me. And now a lowly servant? Are they tired of me slaying their men?” a woman’s voice breathed into her ear before Rhoda was thrown down to the ground.

She looked up at the woman to see long black hair strung into a braid with deep purple eyes glowering down at her.

Rhoda flew over and grabbed the knife, pointing it up at her foe as she yelled, “Get back yee fowl woman, or I’ll slit your stomach wide open!”

“I’m too tired for this!” the witch complained. “Why are you here woman?”

She stood up on shaky legs as she said, “I’m here to have you reverse what you’ve done to my daughter, and all of the other children too!”

The witch tilted her head before letting out a full bellied laugh. “Oh, woman, you are too funny! I have not harmed any children. I’ll tell you what though, I’ll cure your whole kingdom anyway!”

Rhoda lowered the knife slowly, turning her head slowly while keeping her eyes on the strange woman as she asked, “Will you now?”

“Oh yes,” the woman said, eyes closed. She opened them suddenly, both glowing a bright magenta color as she hissed, “For your soul.”

Rhoda fell again, this time out of surprise. “W-What are you?” she asked.

The magenta flicked away as she closed her eyes, purple irises being the only unusual coloring. “Why deary, I’m a demon! Don’t you know? Honestly though, make a contract with me! They usually require this whole summoning spell to call me, but I don’t wanna make you do all of that work! Just make a contract with me! Take my seal, sell your soul!” She got down and leaned close to Rhoda’s ear. “Save your daughter.”

She pulled back and Rhoda looked into those mysterious purple eyes. “What will happen to my soul?” she asked.

“I’ll eat it!” she answered. “And then, you’ll become a demon, just like me!” she laughed again.

Through her laughter, Rhoda gained courage. She nodded her head quickly and said, “I’ll do it!”

The demon stopped laughing. “You will?”

“Of course. I’d do anything for my daughter,” she said.

* * *

 

“And then what happened?” Ciel asked. “Did she save her?”

“Oh yes,” Rhoda said with a nod. “All of the children were healed of their disease. It was a miracle. Now that I think about it, it’s kind of funny. A lot of the people in the kingdom were saying things like, ‘Thank the lord’ or ‘God is on our side!’ and here I was, walking into town with a demon. Of course, that isn’t the end of the story.”

* * *

 

She leaned against the wall of the castle as the demon came to stand before her. She knew that on her left hand, the strange creature bore the same mark that was now branded into her shoulder like a cow’s flank.

“Rhoda,” the demon said, “my work is complete. The contract is fulfilled. Now let me eat you so I can go back to my cottage and take a nap, hm?”

Rhoda nodded, standing up. “Can I just say goodbye to my daughter?” she asked. “I won’t run from you. I just want to see her again before I go.”

The demon watched her with skeptical purple eyes before they rolled into the back of her head. “Ugh, fine! I’ll let you go say goodbye to your kid. Just know this, you can’t run from a demon. That mark on you binds your soul to me. You’re mine, got it?”

Rhoda nodded and let a small smile grace her features before she was tearing through the castle. Some maids tried to stop her, to tell her of the good news, but she already knew.  She took up to the princesses room and opened it to find the young girl sitting on her bed. Also there, was her mother. The queen.

The queen was a tall woman, built wide and large. In that time, this was seen as the most attractive of sizes. Plump and beautiful, she smiled at her. “Rhoda, good to see you. Isn’t this just a gift?” she said. “My daughter has been cured of her illness! It is surely a sign from God himself that he has blessed her wedding!”

Rhoda’s face was suddenly painted into shock. “Wedding?” The word was squeaked out through chapped lips as it flittered into the dry air.

“Oh yes! The family is coming today, and we had no way to tell them to go back, but now that the illness is gone, she can partake in the banquette and meet the prince of the southern kingdom!” She twirled around with a flourish. “Well, I’ll leave you to get her ready for tonight. Make sure she looks perfect as usual!”

With that, she was gone, and Rhoda let her shocked glance fall on the girl who was idly playing with her hair on the bed. The girl looked up.

“What is it?” she asked.

Rhoda put on a nervous smile and chuckled a bit as she said, “Oh, nothing dear. I just… you didn’t tell me you were getting married, that’s all.”

The girl shrugged as she said, “Humph, well it’s not like I had to. Besides, when I marry the prince, I’ll move into his castle! There, I’ll get a new maid.”

Her heart shattered at the words. “New… maid?”

“Or three!” she said, a grin on her face. It was almost as if she didn’t realize what this was doing to her. “Mother said the family was richer than we are, and she has three maids! So why wouldn’t the queen of a family richer than us not? Oh, they’ll do my hair far better than you, like mama’s do.” She stopped and turned to Rhoda. “Don’t think I’ll forget about you though, Rhoda.”

Rhoda perked up a bit and smiled. “Oh, you won’t?”

“No, of course not! I’m going to have many sons. You can be one of their caretakers,” she said, only serving to make her even more broken hearted. “Of course, you’ll need to lose another baby so you can breastfeed again. Do you think you can still get pregnant? I know that you’re a bit older than when you got me.” Rhoda gaped, all color drawn from her round face as she stared at this stranger she’d raised for the past fourteen years. The girl kept on talking of course, but she tuned her out, the noise turning to fuzz in her ears. “Rhoda? Are you listening?”

“Sorry!” she said. “Sorry what were you saying?”

The girl tilted her head. “Aren’t you going to go get pails for my bath?”

Rhoda could no longer find the strength to smile. “Pails. Yes, I’ll get pails.”

* * *

 

“The demon was cackling up a storm by the time I’d returned,” Rhoda said. “Then she ate my soul, and I became a demon.”

Ciel watched with a small sense of sadness creeping through his chest. “She just brushed you off like that?”

Rhoda nodded. “I’d been so delusional for so long, thinking of her as my own. Then, when I got down here, I was made into a tiny little one, given another chance. Flower demons, you see, are processed from birth. Basically, we’re put into something of a home. There we are cared for by at least ten different flower demons. We’re the only demons with a chosen eye color. Then, when we reach about ten years of age, we’re given our memories back of our human lives. Normal demons get them back when they turn eighteen.”

“Why would they make you remember that?” Ciel asked.  “That doesn’t make any sense.”

She leaned back against the couch, exhausted from her tail. “Well, you see, it’s very hard to explain. When flower demons are being chosen from the common souls, the demons in charge will look at what they sold their souls for. A child’s life, the well being of a sibling, even something as seemingly materialistic as wishing for money to pay off hospital bills can be seen as nurturing. Generally, the rule of thumb is that, if you sacrifice, you’re a flower demon. So they make you remember your human life so that you can remember what you sacrificed your soul for. That way, you’ll be more nurturing.”

Ciel gave a confused look. “After what happened to you, I can say that I wouldn’t be so trusting of children in the future.”

“And I wasn’t,” Rhoda said. “Believe you me, I was not nurturing in any sense of the word. I completely hated what they’d signed me up for, and I wanted out. I tried everything, but I just grew distant. I remember the day that the Matron grabbed me by the shoulders and told me that I would understand one day. I never thought I did.” Her eyes grew incredibly soft and she stared down at her hands. And then I graduated,” she went on. “I graduated and they built my house. I decided that I wanted everything to be the same as it was only, this time, I would own the castle. Then they forced upon me my first assignment. I didn’t expect them to give me two at once. Me, who’d nearly dropped out, with two babies. The matron herself was there, smiling at me as I took both of them at once. They were tiny and warm, and I loved them dearly.” She looked up with a smile. “Those boys gave me my heart back.”

Things clicked into place for Ciel. He slowly asked, “Is that… were those babies…”

Rhoda nodded. “Ronan and Pierce were my first children as a flower demon. And do you know what? I’ve never been scared to parent since!”

Ciel sat there for some time, somewhere between shock and curiosity as Rhoda stood and said, “Come now, dear! Maybe I can still get to help serve!”


	10. Thank You

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Just a stub of a chapter before we really delve into this thick meaty plot we've got going on here. Trust me, it's gonna get messy in a few chapters.

Ciel sat up in his room, staring at the windows. They were extremely slim and he knew that he couldn’t open them, even if he wanted to with the rain beating heavily against them. This place really was a castle. It was a castle built under the watch of a woman who’s dream, which she sold her soul for, never really came true. A woman who sold her soul for a daughter, and ended up getting a bratty master.

As he was thinking on this, the door behind him opened and hand flew over his right eye. When he turned, however, he saw that it was only Sebastian.

“My lord, you hardly need to cover your eye anymore,” he said, closing the door. “I came up her to make sure you were alright. I didn’t say anything in front of Ita and my mother, but I felt that you were depressed.”

“Would my wish have brought me happiness, Sebastian?”

The question took him off guard and Sebastian stooped down to one knee to look into Ciel’s eyes. “I say, my lord, what has brought on this train of thought?” Ciel turned away and Sebastian realized what was truly upsetting him. “I see. So you did talk to my mother then?”

He nodded slowly. “She thought selling her soul would fix everything, but it just made it worse. I suppose that’s what happened to me after all, isn’t it?”

“I wouldn’t say so,” Sebastian said. “You were fairly content when I was finally to consume your soul, were you not?”

“But that’s different,” Ciel said. “What would my life be like if I hadn’t sold my soul? Can you tell me that?” Before Sebastian could open his mouth to respond. “What am I saying? I would have been dead.”

“Now, my lord, we had many a close call but you still would have had-”

“No, Sebastian, they would have killed me if it wasn’t for you,” he said. “They would have killed me. If not, I would have just rotted away anyhow. It’s just like I said when we were looking into the Noah’s Ark Circus Troop. Remember? When we found those children?”

Sebastian nodded and stood entirely. “You said that they were shells. That you were like them once, and that I resurrected you, in a way.”

“That’s right,” he said. “So, thank you. Thank you, Sebastian, for saving my life. Not just that one time either, but every time after. Well, except for two of them.”

Sebastian looked down and grimaced in surprise. “Wait, why are you excluding two of them?”

“For the times that you tried to kill me when I became a demon,” Ciel said, crossing his arms as he threw one leg over the other. “I think it’s a fair trade, don’t you?”

Sebastian sighed and smiled as he said, “Yes, my lord.”


	11. Smashing

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ciel learns something else about this strange new family and goes out to town on his own for the first time.

From that point on, days flowed into weeks, and weeks into months. Soon enough, Ciel found himself at home in Rhoda’s castle, though he knew that he could never be truly comfortable under someone else’s roof.

He was sitting in the drawing room, reading a book with Sebastian and Rhoda playing chess beside him, when Ita came in.

“Mistress, I’m sorry to be bothering you, but I’m afraid there’s some terrible news,” she said as she came into the room. “It’s the house you see- it appears we’re out of wood and coal.”

“Oh dear!” Rhoda said. “I thought I stocked up properly for the rainy season. Are you sure?”

“Yes, I’m positive, ma’am,” she said with a nod. “I do believe that the house will be getting a strong chill any minute now.”

“Oh, then we’re going to have to go out and buy some more. Oh, but I simply can’t make the trip today. It’s raining so hard, and I’d have to go into a whole different town since the old wood mill shut down.”

“If it would be that much of a burden, mother, then I believe that I could handle it,” Sebastian said.

Rhoda looked up with shining eyes. “Oh could you? That would be such a big help, Ronan! Thank you, thank you, thank you!” she said, jumping over the coffee table and wrapping her arms around his neck, knocking over a few chess pieces in the process.

“Oh! I have an idea! Why don’t you take Ita with you as well?” she said, already getting up to push the blonde forward.

“Ah! Mistress, are you sure?” She leaned in and nearly growled, “Don’t you need me for something important today?”

“Nope! I can man the fort here! You two just go out and get that wood and coal!”

Ciel almost volunteered to go as well, when he saw Rhoda winking at him when Sebastian turned away.

“Young master, would you like to come out today as well?” he asked.

Rhoda was now furiously shaking her head no, and Ciel looked back to Sebastian for a moment. While he was scared to see what Rhoda wanted him for, he was equally scared to say yes. So he let his curiosity win out the battle as he said, “No, I’d rather to stay in today.”

Sebastian looked at him with a skeptical glance before looking back at Rhoda, who was looking up innocently at the ceiling.

“Well then, I suggest we get going. We don’t want to be out all day. Come along, Ita,” he said, already standing up from the couch.

“Oh, yes! Follow me and I’ll get you some money,” Rhoda said, twirling out of the room.

Ita followed soon after, but Sebastian lingered with Ciel.

“My lord,” he began, “are you sure that you would like to stay here with my mother all day?”

Ciel nodded. “I simply have no desire to walk out into this pouring rain,” he said. It wasn’t really a lie, it just wasn’t the whole truth.

Sebastian nodded and walked off.

They must have left soon after, because that was when Rhoda came in and threw the door open. “Come on then! We have work to do, Ciel!” she yelled before running out of the room.

He quickly followed her out of the room and down the stairs. How that woman managed to walk so quickly in heals was a mystery to him, but he followed with the same pace. Then they came to the kitchen.

“What are we here for?” he asked. “What’s going on?”

“Oh I’m so glad that he left! I thought he’d ask about the date by now, glad he didn’t! Ah! He must have forgotten if he left without a fight,” she said, opening the bottom part of the oven and a nearby cabinet. Inside was few logs of wood.

“Wait a minute, if wood is right there, then why did Ita say..?” Rhoda turned around to look at him with a grin. “Why did you need to get Sebastian out of the house?”

“Well, good question!” She spoke wildly as she flung things out of cabinets and onto counters. “You see, Ciel, I remember every important occasion. Anniversaries, holidays, weddings if they happen- but I especially remember every day a new born entered this household and, if they’re here, I throw a party for them!”

His eyes went wide with realization. “So, today is Sebastian’s birthday?”

She gave him a wide smile as she took out a bag of flour and nodded. “So, I’m throwing a surprise party! Oh he always loved birthday parties as a boy!” She pulled out a bowl and began piling ingredients into it while she continued talking. “It was the only day of the year he and Pierce really disagreed on. Oh that boy couldn’t stand social interactions. But he did his best, being theatric as usual. Ronan, on the other hand, was the biggest social butterfly. Oh, I remember one year- oh it was so spectacular- they did the cutest little acrobat show! You should have seen them! Of course, I wasn’t having too much fun when they managed to get up onto the roof!”

“Sorry, today is Sebastian’s birthday?” For some reason, Ciel felt a bit upset over the fact that he hadn’t thought about this before. The fact that Sebastian even had a birthday had escaped his mind, even when he learned that he had a mother.

“Yep! Try to keep up dear!” Rhoda said, oblivious. “I want you to help. I’m an old woman you know, I can’t exactly hang up streamers and such, so,” she wiped her hands on her dress as she trotted over to another cabinet, opening it to reveal streamers and decorations galore, “I’m going to need your help putting this stuff up.”

Ciel looked at the pile. He thought about all of the ways this could go. He’d never decorated for a party before, much less for Sebastian. But Lizzie had. If that girl could do it, then he certainly could, couldn’t he? It wasn’t like he’d have a hard time, he had everything he needed.

“Alright then. Just tell me where,” he said, nodding slowly to himself.

“Goody goody! Let’s do this then!” she said, clapping her hands in enjoyment. “Oh, wait, the cake!”

She rushed back over to the “cake.” At the moment, it was more or less a pile of unstirred ingredients in a large bowl.

“Here, I’ll handle the cake, and we can get the decorations when you come back,” she said, reaching into her pocket for a second.

“Come back?” Ciel asked.

“Yes!” she said, pulling out a few of the strange rocks he’d known from past experience to be Hell’s currency. “I know you probably want to get a gift for Ronan, correct?”

“But, I don’t know how the money down here works!” he said.

“Oh don’t worry,” she said, already pushing him out into the main hall of the house and then into the stone hallway that lead to the outside. There, from an area by the door, she grabbed his coat and started putting it on him. “There’s a lovely shop just on the corner of the main street. It’s a pawn shop run by a man named Mr. Rawlins. He won’t cheat you, and he won’t snap if you don’t have enough.”

Not moving from the shock in his system, she took the rocks from his hands and placed them into his right coat pocket, replacing them with an umbrella before shoving him outside. “Bye darling!” she trilled before closing the door behind him, leaving him in the rain.

He picked up the umbrella and began walking in the way of the main road to town. Shortly after, he found the shop. It was faded in color, but the sign clearly read “Pawn Shop” where the o in “Shop” was replaced with an upside down pawn, the head in place of the letter. He sighed as he looked at the door and considered not going in, wondering if he’d even be able to find anything Sebastian would like. He also wondered why he even cared.

Then again, Rhoda would probably kill him if he went back empty handed. Or, at the least, she wouldn’t let him have any cake. It had been a while since he’d tasted cake of any sort. Considering the cookie had tasted similar to human cookies, he had to think that a cake would taste the same. So he picked up his pride, and opened the door. As the door closed behind him, he found a bit of difficulty closing his umbrella. When he finally managed, he looked up to see that no one was around. There were no customers or employees. It was just the small shop with small trinkets lining the walls. He began to walk around, looking through the items, which ranged from watches to hats to old toys.

“Finding everything nice?” The voice startled him and he nearly flew into the wall, trying to get away from the man who’d suddenly appeared behind him. “Oh, sorry son! Didn’t mean to startle you,” he said with a chuckle, running a hand over his rusty hair. “What can I get for you?”

“Um, I’m actually gift shopping for someone,” Ciel said.

“Oh, then I can’t help you there,” he said, waving his hands in dismissal. “Gift giving should remain personal, in my opinion.” What was up with demons and personal things staying personal? Well, accept personal space, that is. “The name’s James Rawlins. What’s your budget?” he asked.

“Oh, uh,” Ciel pulled all of the stones from his pocket and presented them. “I don’t really know a lot about Hell’s currency. I’m fairly new, you see, and Rhoda said that you might help me with that?”

“Well let’s see here- wait, Rhoda?” he asked, the smile on his face getting wider and wider. “Oh, the _forbidden fruit!_ The demonic _angel_ of my dreams! _That_ Rhoda?”

Ciel stood there, trying to forget what he just heard. “So, you’re acquainted then?”

“You bet I am! Oh, I’d definitely be willing to help out anyone who knows her. Woo-wee! Let’s see now. Right here, you have about six hundred crink. So you have pretty free reign in the shop, just don’t go thinking you can buy the whole place out, though!” he said, walking over to the counter. “Come see me if you need anything.”

Ciel nodded in his direction, but walked ahead to look at a few of the things lining the wall. Again, there were watches, hats, ornaments, decorations, things he didn’t quite understand, and he even saw a wagon wheel. Nothing special on its label, just a wagon wheel. He looked at this for a while, simply pondering its existence, when he noticed it out of the corner of his eye. It was a simple thing, tiny and neat.

He cradled it into his hands with the utmost care and knew immediately that Sebastian would love it. He walked over to the counter and asked, “How much for this?”

* * *

 

Soon, he returned. He opened the door and let himself in, walking through the long tunnel after ditching everything but his bag at the door. Rawlins had been kind enough to wrap the gift in a small red box, but Ciel asked for a bag anyhow, just to make sure he didn’t drop it.

When he’d found his way to the dining room, which extended to the kitchen, he saw Rhoda flying about the place, putting up streamers and decorations galore. The table was set, though there was no food in sight. He’d only been gone for a maximum of twenty minutes after all. She wasn’t Wonder Woman.

“Oh, Ciel! You’re back!” she said, climbing down. “Just in time too! I’ve got the cake out, so it needs to cool, but now I’m starting on dinner. Why don’t you finish up while I get that going. If you do a good job, I’ll let you lick the spoon when I’m done icing!”

He couldn’t even respond to the remark before she was gone. Instead, he took the box out of the bag and placed them in the under compartment on an empty china cabinet. That way, it was out of harm’s way. He didn’t understand why he thought something would go horribly wrong that night, but it was for the best that he trust his gut on this. For the time being, however, it was time to get decorating.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Plot twist: Ita gets to make food some time in the future.  
> Double plot twist: No she doesn't. Rhoda and Sebastian are winning at the polite game.


	12. Smashing & Bashing

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> We finally get to Sebastian's party, and it seems that a challenger has appeared.

Sebastian walked through the tunnels and into the main part of the castle, finding it completely dark. He’d guessed that she tried making a decent fire by moving all of the candles to another room. He remembered having to do that as a boy. She’d called it camping, but he knew very well now that it was just procrastination. Never the less, he noted that the house wasn’t extremely cold. If the fires had burned out, it must have been just recently.

“Come on, we should set these bags in the kitchen, Mr. Sebastian,” Ita said, walking in the way of the dining room, which was where the kitchen stemmed from. “Then I can set to lighting the fires.”

He nodded, making a note to help her with that. He noticed that she was reaching for the door, and darted to open it for her. When he did, he revealed an extremely well lit room. It was filled with  brightly colored streamers and banners. One banner read “Happy Birthday” in large black lettering. At the end of the table were the two people they’d left in the house all day.

Rhoda was the only one of these two to let out a hardy, “Surprise!”

I knew I should have asked about the date, he thought to himself as he tried to keep his jaw from flying open. He just managed to set down the bags before Rhoda’s arms were wrapped around his torso and she as squeezing him close.

“I wasn’t even aware that it was my birthday,” he said.

She pulled back then and smiled up at him. “Well, I was going to tell you, but then I knew that you would only deny me the pleasure of throwing you a party! So, do you like it?”

He gave a good look at the room and the decorations it held. He nodded and gave a soft smile as he said, “I believe that this is the nicest party I have ever had the pleasure of attending.”

Rhoda squealed with joy as she started clapping her hands. “Then come, sit down! We’ll be having cake and singing once dinner is over.”

At the mention of dinner, Sebastian noted how Ita was eyeing the table filled with food, the food that she was supposed to help prepare that day. That poor table that she threatened, at least in her mind, that she would burn to the ground if anyone dared trying to clean up their own plates.

When she saw him looking, she snapped back into that of a happy maid. “Um, mistress, perhaps it would be best if I got this coal to the kitchen, along with getting the wood from outside to the shed, and then went to relight the fireplaces?”

“Of course Ita,” Rhoda said. “But do come back for cake!”

She curtsied and hurried the bags of coal to the kitchen, only to dart back out into the dining room. Then she was gone. He smiled softly, the clumsy action and need to do her own job in the best way that she could reminding him of a certain group of three servants. Specifically, a red headed maid. The memory was a good one, but it didn’t distract him from Ciel, who was still at the other end of the table, not saying anything.

They all took their seats at the far end of the table. Sebastian was at the head, which was quite a new experience compared to the last few years of simply standing behind the end chair while his master ate his meal. Rhoda was to his left and Ciel to his right as they ate quietly. He noted the food to be his favorites, most likely remembered from a childhood far too long ago.

In an attempt to strike up conversation, he turned to Ciel and asked, “If I may, were you aware of this party before today, my lord?”

“No actually,” he answered honestly. “When you asked me to come along with you, I saw your mother motioning for me to say no. So I took a chance and ended up on the bandwagon.”

“And what a lovely job he did!” Rhoda said, clapping her hands again with a cheery grin painted onto her round face. “He decorated over half of this room!”

The room wasn’t perfect, if I’m to be completely honest with you. The main banner was crooked the right side being a good two feet lower than the other, and he didn’t twist any of the streamers he put up, leaving most of them hanging limply from the wall as opposed to the elegant swirls most would like to see. Ciel wasn’t as blind to this as Rhoda. He simply sat there trying not to go red in the face.

“And he did a wonderful job,” Sebastian mused with a smile as he looked up at the colors crossing over the ceiling and walls. He looked back down to Ciel and said, “Thank you.”

Ciel, who’d rarely said thank you in the past for many of the extravagant things his butler did for him, did not think he deserved it. Either way, he managed to let out a quiet, “It’s no trouble. It is your birthday after all,” as he tried his hardest to look Sebastian in the eye.

* * *

 

Soon, they’d finished with their meal and Rhoda started picking up their plates. Deep down, the other two demons knew that a very large, very flammable, piece of furniture would be missing from the kitchen the next day as payment for her actions. At the time, however, they didn’t seem to care.

“Alright,” Rhoda said as she left the room with the plates, “now all I need to do is get Ita in here for singing and cake! Then we can do presents!”

The last word came out as a trill as she left the room.

Sebastian sighed and his smile fell from his face. It turned into a soft grin as he looked over to Ciel. “I apologize on my mother’s behalf,” he said. “She can get pretty excited about things. I have to wonder what she means by presents, however. It’s not like she had time to go out and get anything. Unless, of course, she did it while Ita and I were gone.”

Ciel looked down at the table. “Actually, she may have sent me out with some money to look for a gift.”

Sebastian picked his head up in surprise as he looked down at him. “Did she now? May I ask what you purchased on my behalf?” he asked, trying not to smile.

Ciel huffed and crossed his arms, a toothy grin tracing across his lips as he said, “No. You’re just going to have to wait until cake is over. I wouldn’t want to ruin your mother’s plans.”

Sebastian leaned away. “Quite an intelligent move on your part, my lord.”

There was no more than a moment of silence before Ciel asked, “Why did you never tell me your birthday?”

Sebastian thought about the question for some time and said, “I suppose the thought never really crossed my mind. It had become an idea that you disliked birthday parties, my lord. With that in mind, the addition of another birthday, on top of the other five we generally celebrated in the manor alone, would only serve to put you at a greater discomfort.”

Ciel watched his face carefully as he searched for a grin or even the slightest hint of a joke. “Are you telling me that you gave up your own birthday for the sake of my mental being?”

“Not just that. I’ll have you know that large extravagant parties were never something I was interested in, especially when I was the main center. In fact, even as a boy, I was all too eager to blend in with the crowd. Lucky for me, I had a twin who could take most of the day’s spotlight. Unfortunately, I had no such thing under your roof. Besides, what kind of perfect butler attempts to overshadow his master in his own home?”

“It wouldn’t be overshadowing,” he said. “I think the servants would have been all too happy to throw you a party, Lizzie as well.”

The idea flashed through their minds of the group trying to put together a pleasant party. Sebastian hummed with laughter at the idea of them trying to be sneaky with the decorations, thinking they could fool him. Ciel was laughing still at the idea of Bard trying to make a cake for the occasion. It was hard for them both to contain their quiet chuckling at the possibility of Mey-Rin tipping over all of the china cabinets in the main dining room when she thought it would be a good idea to tie the streamers to all of them. Tightly.

The ideas fled as soon as they appeared when Rhoda exited the kitchen, carrying the cake she’d prepared earlier in her pale hands. “Alright, who wants cake?” she asked. The icing job wasn’t professional, but it was rather decent. “It’s a chocolate cake with vanilla icing. Now it’s nothing compared to Birgit’s baking, but I have to say that I’ve gotten better at this over the years.

Sebastian shuddered at memories of his mother’s failed baking attempts, but looked at the cake with a smile in his eyes. It certainly looked better than the birthdays he remembered.

“Thank you, mother,” he said.

“You’re very welcome dear,” she said with a small smile. “Now all we need is Ita so we can start singing. Where is she?”

Ita entered the room on cue, looking just a hint of frantic as Rhoda set the cake upon the table.

“I apologize, Mistress,” she called, “but there’s a man waiting in the front hall. He’s come to call on you.”

Rhoda sighed. “Ita, please turn him away and come join us. Today is a little important. If it’s necessary, he’ll come back tomorrow.”

She smiled sheepishly from where she stood in the doorway as she said, “Sorry, ma’am. I forgot to mention that his name was Pierce.” She paused and the information sunk into everyone’s minds at the same rate. “It’s your son, ma’am.”

Rhoda stood in shock before a smile grew on her face.

She let out a quiet, and terrifying, chuckle. Suddenly, the quiet chuckle was replaced with a loud shriek of happiness and she was already dashing from the room, grabbing Ita by the arm as she laughed and laughed all the way like a madwoman. The heavy doors slammed shut, though they could still hear her slightly deranged cackling fill the castle.

Ciel kept a straight face until they were gone and he smiled softly. “Well, it looks like I’ll finally get to meet this Pierce I’ve been hearing so much about.” He started turning his head up to look at Sebastian as he asked, “So what’s this guy like anyway?”

When he laid eyes on Sebastian, he saw that his face had taken one of shock and dismay at the news. At least two minutes of time passed in complete silence before he turned sharply to look down at Ciel. He stood up and took a knee on the floor, facing Ciel and going so far as to take one of his hands into his own.

“My lord, I’m afraid that I need to tell you something important,” he said, his head bowed. “Before I do, however, I want you to know that what I did was in your favor.”

Before Ciel could say anything, the doors were flung open in an extravagant manor, demanding their attention.

“Hello, brother.”

The speaker was not some stranger Sebastian-look-alike that Ciel had pictured. Instead, standing in the doorway of the kitchen, there was Claude Faustus.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> That's it. That's the horrible thing.  
> There is nothing more horrible on this rock than the pure idea that is Claude Faustus. That is all.


	13. Brother Dearest

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Now Rhoda gets to hear the story of how her sons nearly killed each other. Fun.

Ciel was jumping out of his chair and hiding behind Sebastian in the most undignified way possible, his hand already on his eye patch.

“I thought he was dead!” he yelled sharply, trying to get as low as he possibly could.

“Who’s dead?” Rhoda asked when she came in. The shock from hearing the word melted as she dismissed it with a flick of her hand. Her demeanor changed back to the one of joy and happiness. “Oh it doesn’t matter! My boys are here! Both of my lovely, lovely boys are here to spend their birthday with their dear mother! Isn’t this wonderful Ronan?”

Ciel, realizing what was going on, looked back and forth between Sebastian and Claude. _“This_ is your brother?” he asked, already knowing the answer.

He thought of everything he’d heard up until now and it clicked into place. The familiarity between the two, how easily they were able to treat fighting over his soul like a game, the level of Sebastian’s distain, and even the brief mention of how the mysterious brother enjoyed to bask in the spotlight.

He shuddered at the realization that he’d been sleeping in the old bed of Claude Faustus, wearing his clothes, and was even excited to meet him, if only for a moment.

Sebastian stood, head bowed as he looked back at Ciel with apologetic eyes.

“Oh, you know Pierce?” Rhoda asked, tilting her head.

“Indeed,” another familiar voice said as a woman with long lavender hair entered the room. “I don’t believe I had a chance to introduce myself, or my boys for that matter. I want them to wait out for a bit longer. These two got pretty messy the last time they fought.”

 _“Hanna Annafellows,”_ Ciel hissed.

She turned and smiled at him, raising one hand in some sort of wave. “Aren’t you dead too?” he asked.

“Oh silly child,” she said, shaking her head. “Leviathan’s blade can only mar a demon’s soul in the hands of a regular demon, not kill one.”

Rhoda’s eyes went wide. “Did you just say Leviathan’s blade?” she asked before looking between Sebastian and Claude. “And you two were _fighting?_ What could make you boys turn on each other?”

Ciel noticed more movement by the door and, honestly, he wasn’t that surprised to see Luca and Alois standing there with Ita fidgeting behind them.

“I can answer that,” Alois said, which caused both Sebastian and Claude’s eyes to snap open in worry. His hand shot up into the air as he proceeded to yell “They were fighting over Ciel’s soul when he was still human!”

The room went dead silent and a strange energy seemed to crackle in the air. Ciel’s eyes fell on Rhoda who was full on glaring at both Claude and Sebastian, having to switch between the two of them. Finally, she shot over to Sebastian, grabbing his ear. As she dashed to the exit, she grabbed Claude as well. Once out of the room, Ita ushered both of the younger boys inside, and shut the door.

Inside, they could still hear the yelling:

_“How dare you boys fight each other over something as pitiful as a soul- I don’t care if it was yours first or not, Ronan! Really though, Pierce, you couldn’t find another one? Why did it have to be that one?! You had another one and you did this any way?! That’s even worse! You’re both so despicable- how did this happen?! I didn’t raise you like this! Don’t you roll your eyes at me young man! You’re both going to march in there and apologize to both of those boys this instant, do you hear me?!”_

Throughout all of this: Hannah had calmly covered Luca’s ears, Alois was giggling behind his hand, Ciel was stunned by this turn of events, and Ita was cursing the now-cleared table. Honestly, what that woman had to be used to in the house of a 24/7 mother.

The doors opened and both demons trudged inside with a sneering Rhoda behind them. Alois skirted over to be next to Ciel, making it easier for them to say, “We’re sorry for disrespecting the morals and guidelines regarding a contracted soul,” in complete unison.

Once the apology was given, Rhoda sighed and gave a soft smile. “That’s much better.” She turned to Hannah and leaned over to get a better look at Luca. “And who’s this cutie?”

“This is my son Luca. The boy over there is his brother, Alois,” Hannah said.

Ciel’s eyes traveled over to the blonde standing next to him. “How are you alive?” he asked.

“Simple, really,” he said. “When Luca and I died, Ms. Hannah took our bodies and kept them in a safe place! Then she just put our souls back in and made us demons!”

Ciel flinched away from him, not having such a good history with reanimated corpses. “You mean to say that your body is a corpse?”

“That’s not all of what happened,” Hannah said, “but those are the basics. There’s a lot more involved regarding my regenerative properties and how I kept the bodies fresh, then there’s the whole process of replanting the soul, but yes. That’s basically it.”

Rhoda’s eyes snapped open when she’d finally put the last of the pieced together. “Oh, you’re a demon sheath! The same that turned Ciel into a demon, I presume?”

Hannah nodded. “I have to say, I never really thought much of children before I found this one,” she said, holding Luca's hands as he swayed back and forth in front of her. “This way, I can keep him forever just as he was.”

“And why would you keep this one alive?” Ciel asked, basically glaring over at Claude.

“It’s like I said, Leviathan’s blade can only kill when in the hands of a general or higher. Other than that, it’s practically harmless!” Hannah said with a dismissive nod.

“Yes,” Claude said, pushing up his glasses. “I must have missed that part of history class.”

Sebastian glared at him even more so as he growled, “So you were really trying to kill me, then?”

Claude looked back over at him with a small smirk. “Maybe.”

“Yea, but here’s the thing,” Alois said, “I sold my soul to Claude on terms of getting revenge on Sebastian. But, since that was based on a lie, Hannah found a loophole in the contract.” He stuck his tongue out to show Ciel. “So it looks like they’re both stuck in the same boat, huh Ciel?”

Rhoda went pale as her eyes darted over to Claude. “You’re a butler for an eternity as well?” Claude’s face froze in fear again as he tried to avoid his mother’s gaze. She let out a long ragged sigh. “I’m too tired for this. There are too many people here.”

Ita ran over immediately. “Would you like to retire, Mistress?”

“No, no! I simply need to sit. Come along, to the drawing room!”

* * *

 

So that was how they ended up. The coffee table was moved out of the way, and they all sat with three on each couch, both of them pointed towards a grand chair, where Rhoda sat. Behind her, Ita stood dutifully. On the right couch were Sebastian, Ciel, and Alois. Thus, the left held Luca, Hannah, and Claude. There they sat, all taking turns to put together the whole chain of events that lead them to hell. There Rhoda sat, trying to take it all in.

“Alright,” she said, once they’d finished, “let me see if I have this straight.” She pointed at Luca, “You made a contract with,” she pointed to Hannah, “this woman?”

The boy nodded as he said, “Yes ma’am!”

“Because you wanted your brother to be happy and you thought that the only way for him to be happy was to kill everyone in the town?”

“Yep! You got it!” he said.

She sighed and pointed to Alois. “And then you… well everything awful and above happened to you after that, so you summoned him,” she pointed to Claude, “and made a contract under the assumption that he,” she pointed to Sebastian, “killed him,” she pointed to Luca.

Alois nodded thoughtfully as he pursed his lips before he said, “Yep, that’s pretty much it.”

“Okay, and you,” she pointed to Ciel, “again with the everything awful and above, had already made a contract with him,” she pointed to Sebastian. She turned sharply to Claude and jabbed a finger in his direction, “which you just could have stayed out of all together.” She kept her finger at Claude while pointing another at Sebastian. “At which point, you two decided to pin these boys against each other like you were watching a dog fight?”

Sebastian seemed to be trying to find a euphemism for the situation, but was stopped when Claude flatly said, “Those are the basics of the situation, yes.”

Rhoda groaned and raked her hands through her hair. She took in a deep breath and let it go, tossing her head back as she attempted to process everything. “And then so much happened- all of it completely unnecessary, including that incredibly dangerous blood oath you two insisted on creating as boys- and then you died,” she pointed to Alois, then Claude, “then you put his soul, into his body.” she pointed at Ciel. “So you,” continuing to point at Ciel, “thought you were him,” she pointed at Alois. “And that was when you ordered him,” she pointed to Sebastian, “to stay out of sight. And then you,” she pointed to Hannah, “attempted to set everything right by waking up both Alois and Ciel in his own body.”

Hannah nodded. “By swallowing Alois’s eye ball and making Ciel look at it.”

Rhoda smiled oddly and said, “You didn’t mention that part last time, but alright.” She pointed at both Ciel and Alois with one hand and said, “So you two were sharing the same body and Alois took over?”

“For the most part, yes,” Alois said with another energetic nod.

“I see. And you devised a game to have both of them race for Ciel’s soul. So why did you make another contract with her,” she pointed to Hannah, “only to keep them from eating it?”

“Because what they did to us was unfair,” Alois said, not once dropping his smile. “Granted, I was part of the game from the beginning, but then I realized that Ciel never did anything wrong. Still, were treated like objects. The only way to fix that was to make sure that we couldn’t be possessed like they wanted. So I had Hannah make Ciel a demon, and she promised me that Claude would never be able to eat my soul. It all worked out!”

Rhoda nodded, seeming to like this answer more than the others she’d heard that night. She looked over at Ciel, “And you’d already given the order for Ronan to serve you until he ate your soul, correct?”

“Yes,” Ciel said. “Of course, I didn’t know of Hannah and Alois’s plans at the time. I just wanted to give Sebastian a level playing field.”

She looked the group over. “First of all, this story was all really horrifying and I don’t want it repeated to anyone outside of this room. Ever. Do you all understand me?”

They all nodded quickly.

“Secondly, you two are both still on my bad side for fighting over something as petty as a soul. Is that clear?” she asked, eyeing both of her sons, who nodded in understanding. She flopped against the chair in a rather undignified manor, exhausted. “Well, I am absolutely exhausted. It’s really a shame, but I suppose we can put off the cake until tomorrow. Oh well.”

No one dared protest as the woman was lead from the room by Ita, whispering tired, “Good nights” to those still on the sofas. Once the door was closed, the room was silent.

Minutes passed before Claude saw fit to ask, “Are those my clothes?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Seriously though, they should just have Rhoda see the anime.


	14. Parallel

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ciel has a run in with someone who makes him think about his relationship with Sebastian.

Ciel sat on Sebastian’s bed, waiting for him to come back in from where he was the next room over. He was wearing one of Sebastian’s dress shirts at the moment, no longer so keen on wearing the clothes that had, at one point, touch Claude Faustus. It was a ridiculous thought, to be honest. That was considering how many children had probably stayed in that room. Saying that they were only Claude’s was a bit of an incorrect statement.

Suddenly, he remembered something else he’d long forgotten. He quickly slipped from the room and down the stairs. He found the dining room easy enough, even in the darkness. However, the china cabinet he’d placed the tiny parcel in from earlier was a different story. He crept along the wall for some time, until he found purchase on some form of glass. He stroked down the surface to open the cabinet’s under side. There, he felt around for the box. Once he found it, he turned around. He took a few steps until a bolt of lightning illuminated the room from the three windows that lined the wall. Once that happened, he saw a figure standing in the dark.

 He shot back quickly as the thunder followed shortly, looking at where he’d seen the figure, terrified.

“Don’t be afraid,” Alois’s voice called out. “It’s okay, the dark scared me once too.”

Ciel glared at the boy from where he stood, though he couldn’t see him anymore. “What do you want, Alois?” he asked into the darkness.

“Just to talk,” the voice said, suddenly a lot closer.

Ciel, who hadn’t heard any footsteps, was shocked when he heard the voice right next to him. “How did you move so quickly?”

“I’ve been practicing with my speed since Hannah brought us down here,” he said. “Ooo! What’s that?”

As he spoke, Ciel felt the box being plucked from his hands.

“Hey!” Ciel yelled, reaching for where the voice had come from. “Give that back!”

“Calm down, I just want to see it!” the voice said, and Ciel turned frantically to find its source. “Oh wow! It’s so cute!”

He stopped whirling around, standing in one place as he said, “Alois, give that back this instant!”

“Okay, here you go!” he said, and the box was gently being shoved into his hand, resealed and all.

Ciel turned it over, checking its weight to make sure that the gift was still inside. Then something occurred to him. “How can you see in the dark?”

“Oh, that? Ms. Hannah says it’s because I’m close to turning into a full demon!” he said. “You should be able to do it soon too, you know! I’m not that much older than you, and you’ve been a demon longer than I have! Won’t that be exciting? She says I can do more on my own then. You see, demons that aren’t fully developed aren’t invincible like full demons. Once we’re full demons, we can do anything we want! Why, between you and I, we could take over hell!”

Ciel rolled his eyes. “That sounds like an interesting proposition,” he said. “I’ll keep it in mind.”

Alois giggled. “Oh Ciel, you’re so funny. So who’s the present for? It’s not for Sebastian, is it?”

Ciel held onto the box firmly as he said, “That’s none of your business.”

He sighed dramatically and Ciel felt an arm creep around his shoulder. “Oh Ciel!” he said, “Why do you still care about that loser?”

“I beg your pardon?” he asked.

“Look, the way I see it, we’re the same you and I! It’s like I always said, only even more true!” he said, letting Ciel go. “Let’s face it, I never had a reason to want Sebastian dead- but you certainly did! Look at what he did, he risked your life to play a game of ‘Capture the Flag’ with his brother. Does that sound like a likable guy to you?”

Ciel looked down. “It wasn’t like that. Sebastian’s nothing like Claude.”

“I never said he was, but he did do the same thing. He just had a different way of going about it. I won’t say that he wasn’t kinder towards you than Claude to me, he’s also a lot less creepy, to make it blunt. But I have to wonder, what kind of bond sticks through someone literally ramming their hand through your chest?” he asks.

Ciel’s head whipped around and he lunged out. “How do you know about that?”

“Hannah, of course. She told me everything that happened. All I had to do was ask. I was wrong about her, she really is nice. She’s much nicer than those two, anyway.” His voice kept moving and Ciel was getting fed up with spinning to look at the source, so he sat in one place as Alois kept talking.

“It was just out of anger! He had every right to be upset! It wore off soon after we actually got down here,” he said. “He would never hurt me intentionally.”

“That’s what I said and then, boom! Soul in a ring!” he said. “Wait a minute, that’s it!”

“What’s what?” Ciel asked.

“That’s why you aren’t angry at him! Oh my gosh, I can’t believe I didn’t see this before!” Two hands were placed on Ciel’s shoulders from somewhere directly in front of him. “You’re in love with him!”

Ciel finally managed to touch him. He showed this by landing a stiff slap across the boy’s face as he said, “Don’t say such stupid things! Even if there was any way you could be correct, we’re both male. That kind of thing is absolutely unheard of in the mind of the sane. Talk like that can get you locked up in an asylum, or worse.”

“Come now, Ciel! You know it’s true, don’t you?” he said. “It’s okay to accept it. I mean, what’s the worst that could happen? Are you going to hell for it? Too late! Either way, it’s all right! I thought I was in love with Claude for a long time, and then Ms. Hannah explained something called an ‘Abusive relationship!’ Aren’t those two words great? Oh, but the bad part is that they should never mix.” He remained quiet for a while before he said. “Then again, it’s not like Sebastian ever hurt you when you were human. And he took care of you, too. Could it be that I was wrong about him the entire time?”

Ciel let out a triumphant, “Humph,” before he said, “Of course you were wrong! It’s like I said, Sebastian is nothing like Claude. You’re free to enact your revenge on him all you want, but leave Sebastian and I out of it!”

“Oh silly Ciel, I’m not enacting revenge!” he said. The next time he spoke, it was right in his ear. “I just want him to suffer for all of eternity.” His breath was hot, and his voice was startlingly serious, differing from the flamboyant and loud Alois he’d come to know.

It sent shivers running up and down his spine.

The next thing he knew, he heard a door opening and turned to see Alois standing in the hall doorway, waving to him.

“Good night, Ciel,” he said. “Hope you and Sebastian work out. If that’s what you want, I mean.”

The door closed again, and Ciel thought about what he just heard. He ran his fingers over the smooth edges of his tiny red box before clicking his tongue in annoyance as he attempted to make his way to the door.

* * *

 

Sebastian was fed up with everything imaginable, and one of those things was most certainly his brother at this particular moment. He’d finally gotten out of the room with all of Ciel’s possessions that he’d left in there, along with the tutoring board. He sighed in dismay as he wondered how they were ever going to get their schedule back on track with their four new housemates gumming up the works.

He brushed all of this off as he opened his own door and looked inside to find that Ciel was nowhere to be found. Sebastian immediately grew tired at the idea of looking for him, so he was glad to hear a familiar voice say, “Oh, you’re back.”

He turned to see him standing there with a small grin on his face.

“Where were you?” Sebastian asked stepping farther into the room. “I’m not quite sure if you understand the fact that four of our old enemies now share this roof.”

“Oh, I’m well aware,” he said, walking into the room. “I just had a rather unpleasant meeting with Alois.”

“What did he say?” Sebastian asked as he closed the door.

“He spoke like a lunatic as usual. However, I did get him to agree to leaving you alone, if that means anything. And I don’t believe he wants to harm me in anyway, so we have that on our side.”

“Where were you though? What was so important at so late at night that you had to leave this room while we are under such dire circumstances?”

Ciel held up the red box to his face. “I had to get this.”

Sebastian took it into his hands and began looking it over. “What is it?” he asked.

He rolled his eyes. “It’s a present. I was going to wait until after cake, but it doesn’t seem like that’s happening any time soon. So just open it.”

Sebastian shot him a half smile as he opened the tiny box, only to produce a small trinket. It was a plain pin that had been crafted from zinc to fit the form of a small cat, wrapped around a ball of yarn. Sebastian’s smile grew into a genuine one, as he looked from Ciel to the pin.

“You detest cats,” he said.

“But you adore them,” Ciel said. Then he had to go and ruin the moment by adding, “for some reason.”

Either way, Sebastian snickered and placed the pin back into the box for safe keeping. “Thank you, my lord. This is truly a wonderful birthday present.”

“You know Sebastian,” he said, calling attention to himself again, “perhaps we should retire that title.”

Sebastian tilted his head with a confused look on his face. “Whatever for?”

“Well, not only is it going to be a bit more awkward now that we’re in a town of people that know you, but I also feel like your mother is going to have my head the next time you say it,” Ciel said with a smile.

He nodded thoughtfully before he said, “Then what shall I call you?”

“Well, my name would be a good start,” he said, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.

Another chuckle escapes Sebastian’s lips. “Very well then, Ciel.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There you go guys. Alois is getting with the program better than I am. XD  
> For a Sebaciel story, I'm really taking my sweet time with them getting together.


	15. Awkward Lesson and Awkward Outing

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> At remembering Alois's comment on demonic forms, Ciel asks to know more about them.

Te next day was awkward, to say the least. It started out when Ciel woke up. He wondered briefly why he seemed to be in a whole new bed, only to remember the night before in one long rush. The memory had his face twisted by displeasure as he tossed himself onto his side so that he wasn’t looking at the door. Never before had he been so tempted to feign illness. It then occurred to him that this was Sebastian’s room. He couldn’t really remember what had happened after he’d given his gift, but now he was wondering where exactly Sebastian had slept the night before.

Before he could think on it, the door opened behind him and he whirled around on the bed. Luckily, it was only Sebastian.

“Good morning,” he said with a smile as he walked over to the closet.

Ciel sighed with relief and leaned back against the headboard. Never in his life had he felt so exposed. He never invited a potential threat over to his mansion without some sort of backup plan. This time, however, he wasn’t in his mansion, and he couldn’t kill the man he’d come to fear most in this world. Memories came back of the torture Claude had put him through and he found himself shaking in place, a cold sweat forming on his skin.

“Ciel?” Sebastian asked, snapping him back to the world as he knew it.

He was about to question the way Sebastian had referred to him, when he remembered something else from last night.

“Yes?” he said.

Sebastian set the clothes he had in his hands onto the bed and pulled off one of his gloves before feeling around his face.

“You’re quite clammy. Tell me, are you feeling alright?” he asked, a worried look on his face.

Ciel nodded. “Yes, I’m quite well. I’m just not exactly excited to spend the day with Claude Faustus.” He spat the name out like simply saying his name would cause him to appear at any moment.

“Well, I can’t say what my brother plans to do here, but I have to say that we may be more so in the same situation than we once believed,” he said as he began undoing the buttons on Ciel’s shirt.

Ciel quirked an eyebrow as he asked, “And that would mean what exactly?”

“It would appear that Ms. Annafellows has managed to convince him that he is responsible for the well being of her, Alois, and even Luca. Thus, he agreed to shelter them in his home.”

“Let me guess, more repossession?” Ciel asked.

Sebastian tensed before sliding the shirt over his shoulders. “Actually, it was more along the lines of natural disaster. He told my mother and I  that it was being rebuilt, but he needed somewhere to stay for a few months in the mean time.”

Ciel grimaced at the statement. “You rebuilt an entire mansion to exact detail with no more than a child’s distorted memory, all of it, from scratch. What in the world is going to take a few months?”

“Well, to be fair, I did that all without consent of the government,” Sebastian said as he began to dress Ciel in his shorts. “Also, insurance companies are absolutely despicable things. Who knew that your claim could go down for building your house near a volcano?”

His eyes went wide. “Are you telling me that his house was obliterated by a volcano?”

Sebastian chuckled. “Oh, nonsense. That’s the real mystery of it all. No, the thing that destroyed his home happened to be a flash flood.”

Ciel grimaced as he attempted to picture the area that Claude had lived in. “Did your brother live on some sort of island?” he asked.

“A desert,” Sebastian said, thus knocking out the possibility of anything from this story making sense, “next to a volcano. That’s what was so devastating about it. Honestly, he should have gotten the coverage anyhow, but he didn’t and now look where he is?”

Finally, his shoes were strapped on and Ciel was happy to be back in his old clothes, even more so considering who the other clothes had belonged to. He shook his head quietly, deciding that was the last time he was even going to think about it.

With the eye patch on his face, he and Sebastian sat down to begin their next lesson, both of them really not wanting to step out into the rest of the house to face the rest of the household.

“Well, do you have anything you would like to learn specifically? Or should I just choose a random subject?” Sebastian asked as he pulled the old chalk board out of the closet.

Ciel was about to say no, but then another memory crept into his mind. It was of last night and the brief conversation he’d had with Alois. “I’d like to learn more about this demonic form business,” he said. “What exactly will happen when I become a full demon?”

Sebastian’s hand tightened around the edge of the board as he set it into place.

“Are you quite sure?” he asked. “It hardly appears as though it would be relevant for some time.”

“I’d like to be prepared when it doesn’t,” Ciel said stiffly.

Sebastian looked at him. He didn’t say anything, just looking. Then he turned around crisply and said, “Very well then.” He drew a rough outline of a humanoid figure. “Let us begin. You see, when a demon begins transitioning from a pup to a mature demon, they go through an immense amount of pain. It may start gradually with something as small as a head or stomach ache, or it may come all at once in a huge wave. Either way, the demon will reach a stage where the pain is almost unbearable. This would be due to the fact that, not only are they changing physically, but they are also changing spiritually. This would be to make way for the demonic form.”

“And what is that, exactly?” Ciel asked. “I know you’ve kept me from seeing such in full. You’ve described it as grotesque. Is it really that bad?”

Sebastian turned around with a small frown. “The demonic form is not the same for every demon,” he said. “However, they are all the same in the meaning that they are all based off of an animal in some way.” He turned back to the board and began drawing over the picture as he spoke. “Some demons grow horns, others earn tails or claws.”

“Or wings?” Ciel remarked.

Sebastian sneered, still turned to the board where Ciel couldn’t see it painted onto his face. “Yes,” he drew wings over the form. “I’ve even heard of demons growing beaks.”

“But the eyes are the same?” Ciel asked.

“Yes,” Sebastian said. “If a demon is in full demonic form, it is impossible to tell what kind of demon they are. Their eyes will take the magenta coloring I know for a fact you’ve seen on me at least once before.”

“Yes, and what kind of animal is your demonic form based off of?”

The question made Sebastian turn stiffly. He waited in silence, preparing himself as he said, “A crow.” He turned back to the board and began writing a summary of what he’d already said next to his diagram. “If you’re curious, my mother is a bear. and Claude is a spider. Most demons are fairly open about their demonic forms and what animals they’re centered around.”

“Except you?” Ciel asked.

Sebastian turned around again as he said, “My form is utterly repulsive.” The change in demeanor was far different from other times Ciel had seen him upset in the past. He was cold and emotionless as he spoke, almost as if he was trying to keep the conversation as distant as possible. “I hope I’m not getting across the wrong message when I say that. No demonic form is exactly what one would call beautiful, or even pleasant to look at. I, however, simply don’t like my form in any sense. I use it very sparingly, only when I need the upper hand on a surprisingly powerful foe.” His energy changed yet again when he turned back to the board. “That’s another thing about the form, it brings out one’s true power as a full demon.” He turned around again, a bit more relaxed than the previous times. “Do you have any questions so far?”

Ciel shook his head at this, deciding that that was enough questions regarding the subject. Well, for Sebastian at the least.

* * *

 

After their lesson, which ended up being a bit more stressful than usual, Sebastian found himself seated in the drawing room with a board game between him and Ciel. It was a more standard game of Fox and Geese. Sebastian, after losing the coin toss, had become the lone fox. He watched carefully as Ciel approached. It would be quite interesting to see who won.

That is, of course, until Alois came busting through the door. Thankfully, it wasn’t literally so.

“There you two are!” he said, running into the room. “Ms. Hannah was going to take Luca and I out today, and we wanted to know if you guys wanted to come to!”

Ciel resisted the urge to jump behind Sebastian as he simply stared at the boy in question. He looked over to Sebastian quickly, only to see that he had similar ideas about the outing as a whole.

“While I’m sure that the experience would be quite thrilling, I’m afraid that we simply prefer to stay inside today,” Sebastian said.

“Oh, come on!” Alois said. “You two don’t have to worry about us doing anything!”

“It’s not that,” Ciel lied. “It’s just that we’d rather not go out today.”

Alois deflated as he said, “Oh, alright. Oh and, just so you know, Ita said that Ms. Rhoda isn’t leaving her room today. So, have fun basically staying here alone with Claude!” He waved as he departed from the room.

Ciel shuddered at the idea, but tried to stay firm on his decision as he weighed the options. “What are the odds that we could avoid him all day?”

“It would take the largest palace in the world, I’m afraid,” Sebastian said as he stood. “I shall ready your coat.”

* * *

 

So that was how they ended up on an outing with probably the strangest trio one could ever think to find. To be honest, Ciel didn’t think they looked strange at all. It just looked like a mother and her boys. And one of those boys happened to be scantily clad in thigh highs and short-shorts. That’s all.

He and Sebastian hung back, not saying anything as they stopped for Luca to show them something he’d spotted in a store window. That was when Ciel felt a hand pulling gently on his own and turned to see Sebastian glaring at the group.

He turned back around as he asked, “What is it?”

“We could easily sneak off while they’re distracted,” Sebastian said, stopping his anxious pulling.

“And just what would we do then?” Ciel asked.

“Well,” he said, “I’m fairly certain that the ferry is leaving soon.”

Ciel smiled and turned around to look at him, only to see that Sebastian was mirroring his smirk perfectly. “We leave on the count of three. One-”

They were already dashing off.


	16. Roses in the Rain

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ciel and Sebastian finally catch the ferry while Claude broods in his room.

They’d done it. They’d finally done it. Ciel Phantomhive and Sebastian Michaelis were finally aboard the raggedy ferry, staring out at the open water as they finally took off. They were gone, leaving all of their startling and new “problems” behind them. They knew they’d have to return later, but Ciel was quite glad at the moment.

He stood firmly close to Sebastian, not to content with the demons that stood fairly close in proximity. He guessed that’s what they got for standing near the railing, at the bow of the ship no less. Sebastian, noticing his discomfort, did the only logical thing by putting both of his hands on the bar beside Ciel’s. This effectively trapped him in with the railing and, thus, prevented him from having to suffer unnecessary contact.

Oddly enough, Ciel didn’t mind the contact when it was Sebastian. In fact, the warmth he could feel in comparison to the open air felt rather nice. He would never voice this opinion. Instead, he just tried his hardest to look upset about it.

The point where they were at on the ship wasn’t so much the direct front as it was more or less the right side. The ship was slow moving, so the water that was kicked up was fairly minimal. That, along with the extended roof, typical of most ferries, kept them quite dry.

“So, what exactly is so special about this ferry ride?” Ciel asked.

Sebastian thought on it for some time, nodding a few times as he said, “Well my mother took me on it a few times as a boy, mostly for her to laugh at the actual tour part of the ship. You’ll hear all of the announcer’s anecdotes as we near more interesting sights, by the way. I have to say, regardless of why she liked the ship, some of my fondest memories just so happen to be on board.”

“Please tell me you pushed Claude over board,” Ciel said with a light smirk.

Sebastian chuckled and said, “No, I’m afraid my mother would have had my head for such a thing. Now, that isn’t to say I didn’t try once or twice.”

Ciel scoffed at the idea before asking, “Do you think there will be any parts that I will enjoy?”

“Well, I think you’ll enjoy making fun of the announcer,” Sebastian whispered. “Years of listening to you gossip about your guests has told me that much.”

“I don’t gossip!” Ciel said, twisting around completely in his butler’s arms.

Sebastian smirked at the reaction and went on as if it had never occurred. “Other than that, the ship actually docks for an hour and a half at a fairly small island. I do believe that you will enjoy it a great deal once we get there.”

Ciel looked up at him with a skeptical look embedding itself in his eye. Suddenly, he smirked and said, “I suppose we’ll simply have to wait and see about that then.” He leaned back on the railing, placing both elbows behind him. Once again, he realized how close their faces were. And also once again, as long as it was Sebastian, he didn’t seem to mind much.

* * *

 Claude sat up in his old room, feeling like an oppressed teenager as he listened to the familiar beating of raindrops on his window. This despicable demonic being felt cheated. Not only was his home completely destroyed by a more-than-freak flash flood, but everyone had gone out for the day without him. Was it something he’d done? Had he offended them in some way?

 _Surely not,_ he thought to himself. _I didn’t do anything more wrong than anyone else._

He sat up from where he reclined on his bed to really look at the windows that were being assaulted by the rain, trying to pass the time. It was so dreadfully boring without anyone else around. That was part of the reason why he hated this house. Having a brother who was more content to sit and read combined with an extremely introverted mother? It simply didn’t mix with his outgoing personality.

“When did he become such a shut in anyway?” he asked himself, out loud this time. Deep down, he knew the answer, but he just kept going. “He was a fairly decent brother and then one day, he just up and changes! Changes everything! He thought he was so cool and great when he got his form before me!”

Claude stormed up from the bed and began pacing wildly as he continued talking to himself, mostly about things in his past he’d truly forgotten. He’d forgotten the time when he and his brother truly got along. He’d forgotten the fact that his brother wasn’t “distant” for a majority of the time before their ninth birthday. Most of all, he’d forgotten that his brother had a very good reason for not going near him for quite some time. He’d forgotten all of it.

After releasing a majority of his aggression in useless banter that would suit nothing more than to take up space on a page, he sat down with a huff. “Perhaps,” he said, “this isn’t what I’m truly angry about.” He was right. “Perhaps I’m upset about something else entirely. But what could that be?”

* * *

 Ciel had tried his best to keep his mouth shut as they continued through the water. The announcer’s personality had him looking up to Sebastian with a quiet, “Really?” or “Is he seriously going to say that?” There were the occasional times when he found himself snickering. And then there were the jokes. He laughed the first two times, but the rest of the time, he had to contain himself from groaning.

“And this is where the first boat sank down to its watery grave,” The announcer said over the loud speaker. “The man who built the boat, Irmingard Blut, left notes that lead us to believe that he didn’t think the boat was ready on the day of take off. Apparently, the only reason he took off was to impress the people of the town, along with his childhood sweetheart. Talk about pier pressure!”

Ciel threw his face into his arms, considering just jumping into the ocean. “Why is he telling all of these infernal jokes?” he growled into his arms.

“This would be Nicholas Pun, and these are his jokes,” Sebastian began. “He’s very well known for them, and he’s even released a few of them to the human world already. I have to say, I’m quite glad that the trend hasn’t caught on enough for you to hear them yet. However, meeting the man is not a good introduction to the art. I’d go as far as to call it some cruel form of-”

“If you say punishment, Sebastian, I don’t know what I’ll be capable off. However, I can tell you that it will include jumping overboard at the least,” Ciel warned.

Sebastian didn’t finish his sentence.

It didn’t matter anyway because the tour was coming to a close as the ship began turning towards an island to dock.

“And that’s all for today, folks!” The announcer called as they began unloading. “I hope you weren’t too board with my tour!” Ciel groaned. “Aright, have a nice day!”

With the click of the speaker, Ciel felt a bit heavy. Sebastian took the umbrella from where it laid at the bottom of his feet and put it over them before guiding Ciel off the ship.

If you have ever been to the UK and, at some point in your life, a beach either just after it rained or just before it is going to rain, you know that being in the UK always feels like a beach either just after it rained or just before it is going to rain. So, it’s just a bit worse when you’re on a beach while it is raining in the UK. The perfect word to describe this would be: Musty.

For this reason, Ciel felt glad when Sebastian began the act of leading him by way of a dirt path. The path stretched up the island, along with many others. However, this one was narrow, and it didn’t seem to attract the attention of the other demons who had ridden the ship. They were taking paths that were covered in floral plants, such as poppies. The one Sebastian led him down was painted with plain green grass. The fact that the road wasn’t paved, combined with the fact that it was very low and suffered from watershed, made it very muddy and slippery. He was having some difficulty walking along it. Apparently, Sebastian could see this and decided to swing him up into a bridal style motion to carry him, still managing to hold the umbrella a in his right hand while his arm was used more for support.

“Is this better?” he asked with a grin.

Ciel contained the urge to roll his eyes as he wrapped his arms around his neck, having gotten used to the act of being picked up in such a manor long ago. However, he felt as though he should say something, so he grumbled out a small, “Yes, thank you.”

Sebastian continued smiling at that as he walked the path for the both of them. Ciel grew bored after a while of walking and began to really appreciate the arms that were carrying him. Usually, Sebastian was talking and he could feel the vibrations of his ribcage beating against his thin frame. At this moment, they were both silent and he was welcome to just look around. He turned his gaze over to the side to watch the ground instead as the plain grass and mud was suddenly turned into a path framed by pristine flowers. The dirt path transformed into grass, which prevented the mud from coating Sebastian’ shoes.

Surely he noticed, yet he didn’t put him down. Instead, he kept walking down the flowered path.

 Ciel looked back at him and asked, “Where are we going exactly?”

Sebastian smiled as he said, “We’re almost there. You’ll see.”

Ceil sighed with annoyance, but resigned to leaning on Sebastian’s shoulder and just listening to the rain and the gentle squish of Sebastian’s shoe on the wet grass. It was calming when combined with the rocking and swaying of being carried. Finally, they came to a stop.

“Ciel,” Sebastian said, “we’re here.”

He turned around in his arms, not letting go of his neck. There he saw a wide expanse of flowers that, in all honesty, shouldn’t have been able to grow in such a climate. It was beautiful to see the flowers that normally wouldn’t have coexisted on earth as he knew it, especially in such a cold and humid space.

“There’s more,” Sebastian said, taking him by the hand and leading him through a few bushes.

The dew from the branches clung to their clothes as they made their way through the shrubbery and into a smaller clearing. On the far end of the clearing, was something very familiar to him. They were beautiful, pristine, white roses. He walked out into the rain, not caring at all about how he was going to feel about the dripping wet on the boat ride home. He reached out a hand, left ungloved from this morning, to gently stroke the thin, white petals. The disturbance caused the branch to bow and water to spill out from between the petals.

The water that fell onto his head stopped as Sebastian stood behind him, umbrella placed over his head.

 “They look just like hers,” he mumbled quietly.

“I know,” Sebastian said, “That is precisely why I took you here.” He watched Ciel’s mesmerized expression for some time before he asked, “Do you like them?”

Ciel looked up at him and his slightly parted lips curved into that of a genuine smile as he said, “I love them.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'd like to state for the record that I will always hate Claude Faustus and nothing will change that, but I am going to try and make him likable. Remember this: Claude is a poop head.  
> In other news: Sebaciel is actually coming into play finally. Hopefully the author doesn't have plans to slow things down over the next few chapters with nearly useless filler regarding the other characters. That would be almost as bad as Claude Faustus.  
> Happy Easter, everyone!


	17. Don't Focus on the Past

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ciel and Sebastian make it off the ferry in one piece, Hannah wants them all to be friends, and Sebastian continues to hide his past.

Sebastian and Ciel unloaded from the ferry ride back. It had been a quiet ride home, and they’d nearly forgotten about the real reason they’d fled the mainland in the first place. Yet, as soon as they entered the long corridor of the castle, they immediately began plotting about how to avoid the other members of the household.

It started with a quieter approach at opening the rickety, old door that lead to the main part of the house. This went over like a lead balloon as the hinges squeaked sharply. They moved a bit quieter through the rest of the house, but kept moving quickly. Finally, they’d made it to Sebastian’s room.

Ciel smiled, but didn’t rest on the bed. They both looked simply mad as they smiled at each other, drenched from head to toe. Surely, if they hadn’t been spotted coming in, someone could simply follow the trail of water. This was a product of the mad dash they’d made on the way home, the final stretch. Of course, without the advantage of any trees this time around, Ciel was left in the dust. This was not before their legs were already painted with mud.

This brought both of them back to a time that they didn’t mind the mud in their socks or how stupid they must have looked, which they did. Ciel’s hair was sticking up at all ends and angles, while Sebastian’s had smoothed out over his face to make him look like he was the one wearing the eyepatch.

Noting this, Sebastian walked over to the door. He turned to Ciel and said, “I’ll return in a moment with some towels.”

“And then what?” Ciel asked with a scoff. “Are we going to sneak off to the bath as well?”

“If you wish,” Sebastian said, already opening the door and exiting the room.

He walked directly to the linen closet on the other side of the hall, opened it, and pulled out three towels. One for him, one for Ciel, and one for hair. When he closed the door, however, he was greeted with the displeased face of Hannah Annafellows.

“Hello, Sebastian,” she said, drumming her fingers over her elbow where her arms lay crossed. “Did you have fun with your master after you left us in the market today?”

Sebastian’s mood deflated instantly. “I apologize for leaving you. However, you must agree that we simply weren’t made to get along with one another. I who threatened you and you who threatened me? Is there honestly any scenario where we can truly get along with one another?” he asked.

“Perhaps,” Hannah said. “I mean, we are being civil right now, aren’t we?”

He eyed her up and down skeptically. “What do you want exactly?”

“I want to get along with you,” she said. “Look, I’ll give you a fair start! Ask me any question you desire and I shall answer it truthfully and quickly.”

He looked at her for some time with a quirked eyebrow before he asked, “Very well, why do you have two different colored eyes?”

It was true. The right eye, which she’d always had, retained its familiar and prideful blue, while the left was now icy and pierced him with its shade.

“Oh that?” she said. “Well, I prevented it from healing on its own so that, when I was finished using Alois’s eye to awaken him in Ciel’s body, I could place it in my own socket! So I’d have a piece of him with me forever.”*

“And that puts an end to our discussion,” he said, already turning away. “Good night, Hannah.”

“Sebastian, wait!” she called after him with a small huff. “I don’t even know what the big deal is,” she mumbled to herself. “It’s not like Alois’s eye didn’t grow back…”

* * *

 Ciel relaxed against Sebastian’s chest in the tub, hands running through his ashen locks with a few gentle scratches here and there. It was so peace full to just lay like that where he was. Not to mention, it was a lot more comfortable than having to hang his neck over a rim for shampooing. Yes, what started out as a necessity, had become something of a ritual for the two of them. Ciel decided that the demon was familiar enough with his body, why should this be any different?

The toweling off stage, however, was just a bit awkward. Well, for him at least. He was forced to look down while Sebastian ran a towel over his head in messy movements, a towel that hung over his shoulders covering his whole body. Meanwhile, another towel of the same length only covered Sebastian’s hips down to his knees.

Not only did it make him feel just the slightest bit self conscious over his height, but it got even worse when he started to think. He thought about the day they’d just spent out. He thought about the days before that, when they sat upstairs or went out just to end up spending the day in each other’s company. He even thought back to Alois’s statement, which caused a heat to rise to his face.

“Ciel?” Sebastian asked, causing him to look up, finding that his hair was already dried. "Are you quite alright?"

“Yes, why do you ask?”

“Your complexion is startlingly red,” he said, leaning forward to examine his face, which only made it even more so. “Perhaps we should dress quickly and be out. I think the steam is becoming too much for you,” he said.

Ciel wanted to mumble something about it not being able to kill him if he got a little hot, but he didn’t. Instead, he let Sebastian dress him along with himself. Then their clothes were tossed into a hamper and they were both leaving the bathroom and made their way up to Sebastian’s room. Once there, Ciel nearly threw himself onto the bed that stretched out before him.

Sebastian smiled at the action. He was glad that his young lord had started to loosen up a bit. He attributed it to many things, but one of them had to be the lack of stress that came from juggling social, financial, and legal expectations. He was no longer Ciel Phantomhive, Earl of the Phantomhive estate. He was just Ciel. And, as much as he’d always enjoyed his young lord, he liked Ciel a lot more.

* * *

 Sebastian, having stayed in his own room “sleeping” in a chair until the morning came, was surprised to see the door creak open ever so slightly. A hand reached through the crack and beckoned him out. Assuming it was just Claude being theatrical about wanting to talk with him, he simply rolled his eyes and walked over to the door. He didn’t turn around as he slowly pulled the door closed. When he did turn around, he came face to face with something all too familiar. Mr. Gagnon.

“Don’t scream,” he said, black irises shining just before they swallowed the thin light around them. “I just came to talk.”

Sebastian was at a loss for words, backing into the door with his hand on the knob to make a quick escape as the demon continued.

“Look, Crow, I’ll tell you something: I’ve never liked kids. Not once in my life have I enjoyed children. So, I don’t appreciate the new arrival of- not one, not two- three children in the house right by mine. They’re loud, they’re noisy, and they’re far too happy for their own good,” he said, getting closer and closer until the proximity was almost impossible between them.

“How- How did you get in?” Sebastian stammered.

“Oh what? You think your mommy’s house can protect you from me?” Gagnon asked. He formed a grin that allowed his teeth to glint slightly.

Sebastian couldn’t take his eyes off of those teeth. He remembered them differently and, thus, his vision changed. The man was replaced with the figure of a large beast, and he was much smaller than he was. They weren’t in the hall, they were in a yard. They were shrouded by dark trees and his hand was gripping the knob for dear life before he ended up twisting it and falling backwards in a rather ungraceful manor.

“Sebastian?”

At the name, the figure disappeared completely. No man, no best. Nothing.

He flinched at the feeling of hands on his arm and looked up to see Ciel standing there, looking him over quickly.

“Are you alright?” Ciel asked, tilting his head slightly. “Did you fall?”

The concern was welcome and Sebastian attempted putting on a brave face as he brushed off the hands on his arm and got up himself. “Silly me,” he said, “I must have tripped when I opened the door.”

Ciel was glaring at him. He wasn’t surprised if he’d noticed that, if he had tripped opening the door normally, he would have landed on his face. He would not, however, have landed on his back. And he certainly wouldn’t have landed on his back in the same manner as he had with the door still swinging a bit from where it had slammed the wall.

Ciel did notice, but simply said, “Sebastian, you’ve been acting differently since we’ve gotten down here. It’s not just being around your family and friends, it’s beyond that. What’s wrong?” A borderline glare had taken over his face as he stared up at him.

Sebastian simply scoffed and said, “There’s nothing wrong, my lord.”

“Ciel,” he said, “and there is something wrong. This is just like that night after we met that man in town. Gagnon? Was it?”

Sebastian’s face went cold and distant. It was similar to his expression when he’d been talking about the demonic form. “He’s nothing of your concern,” he said. “He’s an old neighbor my mother and her family had never gotten along with.”

“Sebastian, you can’t lie to me,” Ciel said. It was a fact. “If it’s true, go ahead and tell me that you’re not scared of him.”

Sebastian tried to speak the words, but he couldn’t, simply turning away. “I promised to tell you my reasons when the time came,” Sebastian said. “That time is not now.”

Ciel looked up at him for some time, head tilted in thought, before he did the only thing he could think of. He walked over to the door, closed it, and grabbed Sebastian’s hand. Sebastian was puzzled for a moment as he was led over to the bedside. Instead of crawling in, Ciel motioned for him to do so instead.

“Why are you having me get in?” he asked.

“Don’t ask, just do it,” Ciel said.

Sebastian resisted the urge to simply flee from the room as he lay down. The motion was stiff, as it had been some time since he’d actually slept in a bed. Then, Ciel was climbing in too. They were face to face as the young boy slid the blankets over the both of them. 

“When I had nightmares,” he began, “you stayed in the room all night with me. Just being in the room didn’t work, so hopefully this will.”

Sebastian looked at him, stunned, before a smile crept onto his face. “I didn’t know you cared so much,” he said with a sharp grin.

Ciel immediately grew flustered. He rolled over quickly as he said, “Just go to sleep, will you?”

Sebastian let out a final huff of laughter before turning away from the boy to, instead, look out the window. There was almost no moonlight, so he couldn’t see very far. But he could see the rain drops running down in streaks against the glass, only to be marred when they ran into the iron bars that made up a pattern in the window. This was the last thing he saw before he finally, and gladly, fell asleep for the first time in what had to have been a thousand years.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *If you look at Hannah's face when she and Ciel jump off the cliff, you can see that she has two different eyes. So, that right there, is cannon.


	18. Misunderstanding

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rhoda comes to her own conclusion regarding Sebastian and Ciel, and she decides to confront them about it.

Over the course of the calming night, a miracle had occurred. They’d spent roughly two months in hell. Ciel had learned things about demonic culture, as well as Sebastian himself, and they’d even had a birthday pass. Now, on this day, everyone in the castle awoke to find something missing from their lives. It was a distant noise that everyone had very well accepted as normality in that time period and, to have it gone, made the space feel strange and new.

It had stopped raining. The first clue of this, well-known by Claude, Sebastian, and Ita, was the sound of a loud squeal ripping through the castle. Claude groaned as his door was thrown open and Rhoda said, “It’s over! It’s finally over! Oh, happy days are here! The rainy season is gone and Hell is anew!” She giggled as she twirled from the room only to open Sebastian’s door next, “Rise and shine you two!” she called in, her eyes closed from her smile taking over her face.

When she finally opened them, she saw that the two were sharing a bed and quickly closed the door with little else said.

Sebastian sighted. “Oh great,” he said, a hand raising to cradle his own head.

“What is it?” Ciel asked. “You don’t think she’ll make a big deal about this, do you?”

Sebastian shifted his displeased gaze to look down at Ciel. “You don’t know my mother at all, do you?”

Ciel smirked. “Well, what’s the worst that could come from this?” he asked as he slid from the bed. He walked around to the one of the three slim windows that lined the wall opposite to the door. Outside, he could see that the rain really had stopped. He could finally see the ground below, as they were three stories up. “Tell me, how tall is this castle?” he asked.

Sebastian thought about his answer. “Well, as far as the main part goes, only four stories. However, there are a few towers, as I’m sure you noticed outside. My brother and I have only ever made it to the top of two of them. I believe one was ten stories and the other was nine. The other towers have been unexplored, as they are quite unreliable,” he said, throwing a few articles of clothing for the both of them onto the bed.

“And why would that be?” Ciel asked as he turned away from the window. He quietly stretched out his arms to allow his shirt to be unbuttoned. “Does your mother not care for them?”

“Not really, no,” he said. “She said it once, I believe. She only uses the left wing, as the castle is far too big for its own good. She does things to make sure that it stays stable enough to work with the rest of the home and stays aesthetically appealing, such as routine maintenance,” he motioned for Ciel to step into his trousers, “but that would be where it ends. There was a time when I was a pup that she attempted to move all of the energy to the right side, however.”

“What made her do that?”

Sebastian paused as he tied the eye patch around his head. He picked up his own clothes and began dressing himself. “One could only guess.”

Ciel resisted the urge to scowl at the answer. Obviously, it had to do with whatever this big mystery was that surrounded the house. He turned back to the window and looked out to see that, hidden behind a shroud of a tall forest, there was actually a rather large manor nearby.

“For being in such an urbanized area,” he said, “Your mother doesn’t have many neighbors.”

“No, she doesn’t,” Sebastian said. “She lives fairly close to a cliff. I’m sure that you heard the water churning before. The ocean actually sweeps low in the ravine behind the castle. Therefore, not many demons choose to house here unless they’d prefer large fences.”

“Except for him,” he said, pointing out the window. “Is that Gagnon’s house?”

Sebastian stiffened, but nodded anyhow. “Yes, it is.”

“Why did he plant all of those trees around his property?” Ciel asked. “It’s certainly not just a preference of his, this looks like something he did with a true purpose.”

Sebastian sighed. “If you must know, Mr. Gagnon is a general of hell,” he began. “He’s highly ranked and used to be involved in many battles. In fact, most children learn about him at school as one of the most decorated military officials still alive. Unfortunately, the history books don’t necessarily paint the whole story.”

“Does he have war flashbacks?” Ciel asked.

“No, it's not that bad. However, he was never fully able to get his mind off of the battle field,” Sebastian said. “His yard is lousy with traps and the like. The trees, most likely there to provide him with some sort of cover in the day if he needed it.”

“So he’s a crazy war veteran then?” Ciel scoffed. “Well it’s easy to see why he and your mother don’t get along then.”

Sebastian stood behind him, gazing out the window. He replied, “Yes, I suppose that must be it,” in a low wispy tone.

Ciel quirked an eyebrow as he turned around to look up at Sebastian. “Sebastian, I’m not stupid,” he said. “I know that the reason your mother hates him must link back to whatever happened with you.”

Sebastian glanced down, resting a hand on Ciel’s shoulder as he stilled himself. “If I could tell you, I would,” he said. “I would tell you the whole story, but, as things are… difficult, to say the least.”

“I understand,” Ciel said. “I won’t talk about him anymore, if it makes you so uncomfortable.”

Sebastian smiled with an appreciative look in his eyes. “Thank you,” he said. “Now,” he walked over to the closet and pulled out the old chalk board, “What else can we teach you about Hell?”

* * *

 

Rhoda was pleased with her time in Hell. As a professional flower demon, she’d brought up one hundred and seventy-seven pride demons, one hundred and seven lust, one hundred and forty-two gluttony, one hundred and seventy-eight  envy, one hundred and twenty-eight greed, ninety-three sloth, and only one child of wrath. That would be eight hundred and twenty-six children in total.

She could tell you all of this and, if you’d be willing to listen, their names as well. She hung pictures all over her room and other areas of the castle so that she would never forget the children she’d care for in that time. She loved them all dearly. But, of course, she cared for children that weren’t hers all the same.

So that’s why, with all of these years of mothering behind her, she was most shocked with what she’d just seen. She’d thought of the boy who’d come into her house as a child, but he acted so adult. So sophisticated. She learned from him that he was actually fourteen. To her (not entirely incorrect) knowledge of earth, that meant the boy was old enough to marry. But she had to make sure of one thing: Was her son really happy with him?

Now, keep in mind that Rhoda has always been one to jump to assumptions, and she’ll beat them like a dead horse until fully proven she’s wrong. So she watched them for the rest of the day. She watched them while they walked down the hall to the drawing room. She watched them while they played games. She watched them while they walked back to their room and even went as far as to stand outside of that room until she finally secluded her son from the other boy.

Sebastian had been walking out of the room on his own to retrieve some more chalk for their lesson, which was when she grabbed him by the arm and dragged him off to the lounge. She’d already gone as far as to draw the curtains, only allowing a thin amount of the fresh sunlight into the room while she sat, hands under her chin from where they were propped on her knee.

Sebastian, who had just been thrown into the chair across from her, sat there waiting for an explanation. “Mother?” he asked. “Is there something wrong?”

“Have you been having sex?” she asked.

He just looked at her. Just looking. He didn’t know how to respond to that. “I beg your pardon?”

“You and Ciel, have you been having sex?” she asked, laying against her armchair.

“No,” he said, confused. Suddenly, a look of realization came over his face and he said, “This must trace back to what you saw this morning. You see, it is all really a misunderstanding!”

“Go ahead then, tell me what I’m not understanding,” she said. “You bring a boy back here, explain that you don’t think of him as a child, and then you two spend all of your time together. You bathe together, you go out together, and then you share a bed? What am I not understanding?”

He sighed. “Again, it’s all very misunderstood. We bathe together purely to conserve time, we made outings simply to get fresh air. We would have invited you if I thought for a moment that you could truly enjoy the rainy weather. And, as for the bed incident, Ciel was simply concerned about-”

“Aha!” she said, pointing at him. “Since when did you start calling him Ciel?” she asked. “That just shows familiarity. Familiarity that comes from,” she leaned forward, placing a foot on the coffee table to seem taller as she growled out, “having sex.”

I’m starting to wish that demons had some shame when it comes to the human body, Sebastian thought to himself.

“No,” he said calmly. “Actually, the change of title came on the night of my birthday. You remained incapacitated from outright exhaustion yesterday, so you couldn’t have any time to hear it.”

She glared, but backed down to sit again in her chair. “You didn’t have sex?”

“No, now please stop saying that,” he said, attempting to contain the whine in his voice.

“Then what is it?” she asked. “It’s not a friendship, and it goes beyond a contract! You can explain things all you want, but I see the way you look at him.”

Sebastian sighed and leaned on his own arm. “To be honest with you, I don’t even know at this point.”

Her eyes softened and she said, “It’s alright not to know. But do you have an idea?”

The lids of his eyes lowered as he was submerged into deep thought. “I don’t.”

She gave a knowing smile as she stood and said, “Well then you should probably get back to your not-master. He’ll be missing you soon, you know.”

Sebastian stood and nodded. “Thank you, mother. See you at dinner.”

She waved him off. She said to herself, “I wonder if Ciel knows that they’re hopeless for each other.”

* * *

 

It was late in the night and Rhoda was strolling along in her garden. The fact that she was no longer required to carry an umbrella was a refreshing burden off her shoulders, but something still felt off. So she’d sent for the only man she could trust.

“I have arrived, my Irish Spring,” the voice called from behind her.

She turned to see the aging face of James Rawlins standing before her.

“James,” she said, hugging him curtly. She pulled back, “I’m glad to see that you came.”

“Anything for you Rhoda. Oh, my dearest, you haven’t aged a day.”

She giggled. “Oh, stop it, you dog!” she said. “I know very well that you said the same thing to Birgit no more than a month back.”

“Ah, but the heart wants what she wants, Rhoda!” he said. His demeanor stiffened and he handed her an envelope. “This is everything I could get on old Gagnon. I hope it’s enough for you.”

She opened it only to pull out one paper.

“Only one instance of abuse?” she nearly cried. She stuffed it back into the envelope. “I’m sorry, James. It isn’t your fault.”

He opened his mouth, closed it again, and moved closer. “Rhoda, I hope you don’t take this the wrong way. I know that what happened was awful- we all knew- but it’s been years. New laws are in place now, he wouldn’t get away with it ever again if he tried. You see, what I’m trying to say is-”

“Why do I care?” she finished with a weak smile. She turned away. “You’ll never know what it feels like to see a look like that in someone’s eyes. You’ll never know, because I know for certain that it could never be replicated. He was my son. It was my mistake. I should have been watching him.”

“Rhoda I-”

“If I had been,” she cut him off, “he wouldn’t have been hurt. Living next to this monster is the worst thing I could have ever put him through. But I know that I can’t give up. I have to give that boy justice, if it’s the last thing I do!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm glad that Rhoda's getting with the program!  
> I think that this chapter is going to be the last one for a while. Hopefully we can start digging into that plot that I'm sure is here somewhere. Remember, comments are always appreciated! Support your authors with a lot of criticism and comments! Even if it's just ":)" or "lol" it's nice to know that we made you smile!


	19. Its a War Out THere

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Its a war out there. A pillow war.

The next day, Sebastian awoke to find Ciel lying next to him. In the night, they’d ended up facing each other, the same as the night before. But now, they were closer. He could feel the tiny, unnecessary breaths beating against his face and neck. He considered getting up to dress, but the idea seemed so tiresome that he opted for simply laying there. He watched the boy sleep many times in the past years, but this time was different.

Ciel wasn’t the only one who’d noticed the lack of stress he carried in hell. Sleep had always painted a unique look of peace on his face, which was a very rare sight indeed. Now that peace was even smoother and far more profound than Sebastian could have ever imagined. He studied this look further, and he finally understood his charm. He briefly wondered if the round cheeks would ever smooth into the same firm face of his father, which he’d seen painted countless times on those old family portraits he took down. Perhaps they would remain in that same soft form.

He then realized that he didn’t care. He couldn’t think of one reason why he would but, either way, he would still feel the same way. The way that he felt, however, was another issue entirely. He didn’t understand his own emotions at the moment. Something told him it wasn’t simply a contract anymore, which it wasn’t in all reality, but something also told him that they could never be anything more.

Just as he was thinking about what they were, and what they could inevitably be, Ciel’s eyes slowly fluttered open. It took all self-control to stay in bed exactly as he was when their eyes met, resisting the urge to flinch away. Ciel searched his face with questioning eyes before they fell shut again and he let out a relaxed sigh. He then moved closer. They’d been about two inches apart before that moment and, now, they were touching. He felt the breath on his neck turn back into the calming pace of beforehand.

The scene was slow and steady and nothing unfamiliar to Sebastian himself. He’d had the boy pressed against him before whenever he carried him, but this was different somehow. It couldn’t be that he was sleeping or what he was wearing. Maybe it was the fact that they were in a bed. Maybe it was the fact that, for the first time, they were sharing a space as equals. At the same time, they were close.

He let a small breath of laughter escape as he smiled. He asked himself, _What are we, Ciel?_

* * *

 

During their lesson for the day, an interruption emerged from outside of the room. Ciel threw him a tired look, while Sebastian quirked an eyebrow. They were both pondering the thought of actually going out to check on it, when another noise sounded, this one more on the lower level this time. Whatever was making that loud noise, it was moving.

Sebastian set the chalk down and Ciel stood from his chair. Slowly, they made their way to the door. Sebastian’s hand rested on the knob as he looked over to Ciel. They both knew, deep down that, if they opened the door, they wouldn’t return for some time. Summoning their strength, Sebastian slowly pushed the door open.

That was when Alois charged up to the door, faster than Sebastian himself could have managed, with a wide grin on his face. “Good thing you came out!” he said. He latched onto Ciel’s arm and pulled him forward. “I’ve been puppy guarding your door all day! Come on! This will make it fair!”

Ciel let out a small scream as Alois managed to get him out of the room entirely. He looked back to Sebastian for help, but was pulled away far too quickly for the other demon to do anything. The next thing he knew, Alois was jumping over the railing on the stairs, throwing Ciel on the ground next to him.

His teeth clenched in the fall, hurting his jaw, but the rest of his body remained without pain. This was probably due to the pillows and blankets that scattered the floor.

He looked up to see Alois peaking over the back of a couch. Or, I should say the seat, as it was tipped onto it’s back and stripped of its cushions.

Ciel glared, and said “Alois-”

The boy clamped a hand over his mouth to cut him off with a finger pressed to his own lips. “We have to be quiet!” he whispered as he pulled his hand away.

“What are you doing?” he asked, managing to hush his demand to something of a whisper.

“It started this morning after I woke up,” he said. “I found Luca in the drawing room with Ms. Rhoda and they were drawing up plans for-”

“Battle!”

The strong Irish accent jolted both boys to life as they were assaulted with pillows and cushions from both sides. Ciel raised his hands to shield his head from the attack, only to open his eyes to see Alois beating off Rhoda with a pillow of his own.

Above the scene, on the stairs, he looked to Sebastian for help. The man was standing at the top, wondering just how he could get him out of this situation without roping himself in. Just then, Luca snuck up behind him and began beating his legs with a pillow.

The scene would have been comical, if it wasn’t so confusing. Deciding to try something else, Ciel balled a fist around the pillow beside him and stood to fight his way out. This was ridiculous. When he wasn’t looking, another pillow smacked over his head. He turned to see Hannah smiling at him.

“Sorry Ciel, one has to keep things fair,” she said before raising her pillow to hit him again.

He raised the pillow and backed up, effectively backing into Alois. They both swung like madmen, Ciel trying to focus while he continued to look up to see Sebastian standing there. Soon enough, the terror that had gripped him at the same time that Alois did dissipated entirely. No longer was he entirely afraid of the situation, especially when he saw that, through all of it, those he who were fighting seemed to laugh and actually enjoy themselves.

He didn’t like getting hit with a pillow. It wasn’t as though it would kill him, but he still didn’t enjoy it.

Just as he was wondering if he could get past Hannah, a figure dressed in black leapt down from the stair case. It was Sebastian and, in his arms, was a struggling Luca.

“Ladies,” he said dipping slightly as the fighting stopped. “I have a hostage. If you would like my prisoner back, I will require you to surrender.”

Hannah and Rhoda looked at each other with quizzing eyes before they lowered their pillows and backed away. Ciel and Alois scrambled past them, pillows in hand, to get to Sebastian’s side.

Sebastian then set Luca on the floor, to which the young ginger yelled, “Retreat!”

Hannah darted out to scoop him up while Rhoda left in a dash. The three opponents were gone and Ciel let out a sigh.

“Well then, I suppose we should get up to your room before they return,” Ciel said as he dusted himself off and moved toward the stairs.

Alois cut him off by running in front of him. “Come on Ciel! I really need your help on this, and Sebastian! It’s one of me against three of them! How is that even fair?”

“Too bad,” Ciel said, already walking away.

Alois pouted before he grinned sinisterly. “Yes, I suppose it is. I thought you liked games.”

So the war began.

* * *

 

They must have spent ten minutes getting everything ready. First, they needed a better fort than a tipped over couch. Other than that, building a fortress by the stairs was a shabby idea to begin with, due to the fact that a potential threat could dive down at any moment. So they moved the main fort to the castle’s rather large library, considering the drawing room had been taken over by Luca’s army. It was a spacious area with many twists and turns, which made it good for hiding, not to mention it was a fair temperature room.

Ciel had to admit, it was comfy. He sat on a multitude of cushions, looking out over his corner of the library. He and Alois were in the fort at the moment, Sebastian heading out to scout the other team. Alois kept moving furniture around them. Mostly things like benches and chairs.

“This is really fun, huh Ciel?” Alois giggled.

“I suppose,” he said.

“Did you ever do anything like this when you were a kid?” Alois asked.

“No, actually,” Ciel said, looking away from the hole. “My only playmate was a girl. Such games would be inappropriate for her. By the time I was ten, I had more important things on my mind.” He looked back. “What about you and Luca?”

“No way! Luca and I were never able to do things like this. We lived in a bloody shack after our parents died.” Ciel cringed, having forgotten that little factor. He expected a harsher tone to follow, but Alois kept talking as if he was talking of someone else’s loss. “Even before that, our house was on the smaller side. Not really any pillows, actually.” He nodded. “But that’s okay!” He looked over at hearing that. “I mean, we had our own fun.”

He looked at the boy for some time, studying his icy blue eyes. There was no pain there, not like there used to be, just the plain look of mischief and feigned innocence that he found so intriguing. These thoughts were interrupted when Alois looked out of the hole.

“Oh no,” he said in a low tone. He bared his teeth in a grimace and picked up a large blanket from what was the fort of their floor. He hid under it and said, “Hide” in a flat tone.

Ciel looked down at the blanket, about to ask just why he should do such a thing. He knew that Rhoda and Luca would be too loud to miss, and that Hannah wouldn’t be in the lead, so he was taken by surprise when an arm reached through the blanket roof and began pulling the makeshift fort apart. Chairs were removed until the face of Ita was in clear view.

“I’m sorry about this,” she said as she stepped back.

Before he could say anymore he was, once again, interrupted. This time, it was by a demon who thought it necessary to hang from the ceiling in his line of view. Claude pushed up his glasses—well, perhaps it was actually down—and they glinted in the dimmed light.

“Excellent,” he said, “You can finally give up this puny battle. The true contender has arrived.”

He hissed and recoiled into the bookshelf behind him while Alois sprang out and threw a pillow directly at Claude’s face. He dodged it, but it gave them an opening. Alois shot up, wrapping his fingers around Ciel’s wrist as he, yet again, dragged him out of the fort and down the twisting maze of shelves and books.

“Where’s Sebastian?!” Ciel asked as he was pulled.

“Who knows?!” Alois shouted back over his shoulder, just managing to dodge a few chairs that had been set up in a nook. “Let’s just get out of here!”

Ciel looked behind him when he heard a few hollow thumps to see Claude jumping from shelf to shelf, gaining on them with every jump.

Alois looked behind him. “Bloody all!” he yelled, “Come on, we’ve gotta get going!”

He picked up to a tremendous speed, one that Ciel found threatening to the well being of his right arm. Either way, he tried running faster. He’d never had to run very far in his life, even in his particular profession, but it seemed like almost nothing now. There was no screaming in his lungs that he usually got from short distances. While he couldn’t excel to a speed higher than he was currently running, he didn’t feel tired. He felt like he could run forever.

That was when they reached the entrance of the library, Claude gaining on them. They turned a sharp corner to the right, down a somewhat unfamiliar hall. Ciel had never been to the castle library before, but he was pretty sure that they were supposed to take the hall that branched from its left. If it was incorrect, it didn’t matter when he and Alois ran into a frazzled looking Sebastian.

His tie was skewed along his neck and his blazer was half hanging from his arms. A few of the buttons on his shirt were popped open.

“What happened to you?” he asked as he and Alois skidded to a halt.

“It appears that Claude has entered the war,” Sebastian said, trying to tame his hair with a hand.

“We know!” Alois said before running with Ciel again.

They didn’t get far before Luca jumped up in front of them from where he was lying in wait behind a couch.

“Charge!” he yelled, which sprung a barrage of pillows from the balconies that surrounded the room, springing from the floor above.

They rained down, making Ciel lose his balance. Sebastian caught him, which was somewhat mistake. In the confusion of the pillows and Ciel falling, he’d left an opening for Claude to get through. He was tackled. Ciel gained his balance, luckily, but watched in simple horror as Sebastian was plainly smothered under a pillow.

He felt a small tap on the back of the head and turned to see Ita delicately holding a pillow.

She deflated visibly and sighed. “I’m so sorry. I really can’t do this.”

“Ita?” Rhoda called over the railings. “What are you doing down there?”

Ita looked up. “Mr. Claude- _er-_ Pierce asked for me on his team.”

Rhoda’s eyes scanned the floor until she found who she was looking for. “Oh, Pierce! You’ve joined us as well then?”

He looked up to respond, but was cut off when Sebastian’s fist came into his jaw. He was flung off, giving Sebastian enough time to spring up and begin a pillow-based attack of his own. He took two, one on each hand, and began using them to hit Claude fiercely in the sides. Obviously, regardless of the pillows cushioning each blow, Claude was feeling the individual hits full force. He was tossing and even letting out small groans.

Soon enough, he got a grip on Sebastian’s wrist. He twisted his arm, making him drop the pillow in his left hand as he flung him upwards. Sebastian took his remaining pillow and whacked it over his head and effectively knocking his glasses off of his face.

“Alright boys, that’s enough!” Rhoda said in a cheery voice from where she leaned over the railing.

The rest of the room had gone dead silent. Hannah was out of pillows, Ita certainly wasn’t making any movements, and Ciel, Alois, and Luca were left with their attention captured by the fight.

That’s what it escalated to. Claude wove through the room at dangerous speeds, but Sebastian’s agility was a whole other force to be reckoned with. They thrashed each other into walls, the pillows thrown in every now and again to spice up attacks or throw off one another’s movements. It didn’t seem to matter how plush they were because each blow was a brutal all out attack.

“You can stop now,” Rhoda said again, her voice wavering slightly.

The fight intensified. Whatever Ciel had seen of their fights in the past was forgotten. Gone were the snide smirks and sly grins the two shared between them. In their place was a harsh lashing out that startled him.

It appeared that it had the same effect on Rhoda.

_“Go leor!”_

The command, though Ciel didn’t quite understand it, was yelled in such a way that all movement ceased. Meaning, the two men who had been fighting brutally stopped. Claude was caught mid-hair pulling, while Sebastian held his fist back from its previous destination: Claude’s face. Their teeth, which had once been clenched in fury and anger, were now clenched with worry and regret as Rhoda leapt from the balcony. Somehow, her round form managed a threatening grace. Those eyes that had once shined warmly at Ciel, had him stepping back .There was no way that he was getting in the middle of this.

“Hannah, Ita, boys,” she said, not looking away from her sons, “please excuse yourselves from the room. I need to have a talk with my sons.”

It wasn’t really a room as much as it was an open space amidst a long hall, branching out to form some type of living area. Being what it was, simply leaving and turning the corner was not enough to block off the slurry of words that followed Ciel down the hall. Ita was shuffling quickly, feet moving in a quick-paced fast walk until they got to the library where she branched off from the group. She shut the door behind her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> "Go Leor!" Is Irish for "Enough!" in case you're wondering.  
> This chapter could have gone a lot of ways, but it's setting up for the next one. We're really going to get into some plot next chapter. Some changes will be taking place.  
> HINT HINT: That may be a tip as to what the next chapter will be about.


	20. Changing with the Times

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A startling transformation has gripped the members of our lovely, dysfunctional little household.

Ciel was on his own in the library of the castle, looking over a book, and he had to say Hell had quite interesting literature. He’d stayed away from it for some time, thinking that it would be either unreadable or horrible in some way. But it wasn’t too far off from what he usually read. He would miss the works of his favorite author, though. Doctor Watson would just have to wait until he could get his hands on those books again.

Just then, he was interrupted by a figure dropping down in front of his face.

“Boo!” Alois yelled.

Ciel wasn’t startled, he simply sighed as he turned a page. “What do you want Alois?” he asked.

The boy giggled as he dropped down from the bookshelf he’d been perched on. He’d certainly taken to using his newfound abilities more so than Ciel. And, Ciel had to admit, some of it was quite impressive. Though he felt no desire to try it for himself, he could still appreciate that some work was being put into the stunts.

“What’ch ya reading, Ciel?” he asked, leaning over the arm of the chair to read along with him.

This had been their newfound routine for the past two weeks. Ever since Rhoda had demanded her sons rebuild their relationship with “Mandatory Family Bonding Exorcises.” She mandated it to be family only, so it was just her, Claude, and Sebastian. In the lounge. _Bonding._

So the new unofficial schedule went as such:

They would wake up and go through a much shorter version of their usual lessons. Sebastian would then report to the exorcise and Ciel would spend some uncomfortable time with Alois in the library or the drawing room, if they decided on a board game for the day. Then Sebastian would be free and he and Ciel would spend a while together. Then after dinner, he could finally crawl into bed with Sebastian.

Yet, the time with Alois was slowly growing on him. It was different when the boy wasn’t drugging/annoying/fighting/stabbing him or throwing him off a balcony, threatening his loved ones, having his soul ripped from his body- come to think about it, maybe it was just the situation. And, after all, sharing a body with someone else’s soul gives one a new outlook on said person.

It is for this reason that Ciel actually grew worried when Alois collapsed on the floor.

“Alois?” he said, shooing up from the chair. The boy didn’t answer, he just started convulsing on the spot. “Alois? Are you seizing?”

There was still no response and, in a way, the boy’s body seemed to pulsate on the ground.

“Stay here,” he said, running out of the room. He stopped at the door to look back, hoping that he would just get up and claim it as some big joke. He didn’t, and Ciel ran as fast as he could to the lounge.

He flung open the door, which brought all three pairs of eyes on him.

“Ciel?” Sebastian said, standing up. “Is something wrong?”

“What’s going on?” Hannah asked, coming behind him in the hall. “I heard you running past our door.”

“Is something wrong, Mr. Ciel?” Luca asked.

Ciel tried to choke out an answer, but started coughing on the spot as he fell to floor himself. Luckily, Sebastian caught him and brought him down slowly.

“Alois,” he said before he was launched into a coughing fit. “Library!”

Rhoda’s eyes grew dark and she fled the room, Hannah behind her as she yelled, “Get that boy to the rooms! Now! Lock the door when you’re done!”

Sebastian knew at that moment what was happening. His hands tightened on Ciel’s shoulders before he lifted him up against his chest.

“What’s happening?” Ciel groaned. Every bone was screaming, as if some great pressure was being exerted on them.

Sebastian didn’t answer as he took off, leading them up the stairs. He assumed that he would be taken to Sebastian’s room, but they passed it and turned right at the end of the hall. He hadn’t been down this hall before. It looked faded and darker.

Finally, Sebastian opened a door and brought him inside. He was laid down in a bed and tried to look around wildly. His eyes burned and he knew that his demonic eyes had come out, though he hadn’t called them. He could then see clearly in the dark room. He could see the scratches, how bricks were hastily slapped in the places where windows once sat in their sills. The room looked as though it had once held a ferocious monster. He then noticed that the marks were all different sizes and numbers, as if there had been many beasts as opposed to one.

“Ciel, I apologize,” Sebastian said as he undid his eye patch and placed it into his own pocket.

He also took off his shoes, socks, blazer, and neck tie. He was left in a dress shirt and shorts as he lay there. Suddenly, he was glad for it as a wave of heat simply hit him. It was quickly gone and, in its place, a cold chill crept up his spine. The chill’s path was soon filled with pure fire and pain, causing him to let out a horrid scream that filled the room.

“I’m sorry,” Sebastian said, and then he left the room and shut the door.

It wasn’t too long later in those pain-filled moments that the silence was interrupted by a new scream, not from his own lips. It sounded like an unknown animal at first, but then he recognized another tone in the scream. The thing making the noise had to have been Alois. So then whatever was happening to him was happening to Alois as well.

He didn’t have much more time to think about it before he lost out to the pain and everything went dark.

* * *

 

Sebastian walked into his room and opened the nightstand. He took out the small cat pin and, in its place, he carefully folded Ciel’s items and put them inside. He buttoned the pin on his own blazer so that he didn’t lose it, and then he walked out into the hall, shutting the door. He knew that this was coming eventually. He just didn’t want it to.

His right hand wrapped tightly around his left wrist as he stood there, still as death. He remembered, if only for a moment, his childhood transformation. The pain Ciel would endure over the course of the next week or so would be excruciating. He would feel his bones forming, bursts of fevers and cold spells- there were even points Sebastian himself couldn’t remember. Those would be the times that his demonic form had taken over.

He shook off all of these thoughts. There was no time to think on that. He walked briskly to the lounge, knowing that the other members of the household would be gathered there. And there they were. Rhoda was resting her chin on the palms of her hands from where they were propped up on her knee with Ita standing dutifully behind her chair. Claude and Hannah shared the love seat with Luca sitting atop Hannah’s lap. The poor boy looked absolutely terrified and confused as Hannah simply continued whispering loving words in his ear.

“So,” Claude said, “it appears as though this time has approached sooner than we thought.”

Hannah nodded in agreement. “I knew that Alois was developing quickly, but the warning signs still weren’t close enough to worry me.”

“I’m especially upset,” Rhoda said. “I should have seen this coming sooner. To have a pup reach such a violent state before being taken to a safe environment is dangerous. I should have been more careful.”

“You shouldn’t blame yourself ma’am,” Ita assured her, laying a hand on her shoulder. “The boys aren’t exactly natural, after all. Who even knows if the warning signs came at all?”

“I agree,” Sebastian said. “I didn’t notice anything apart from an increase in physical activity, and it was strictly limited to a gain in speed.”

“Alois had developed his speed and nocturnal vision somewhat,” Hannah said, pulling Luca closer. “But he didn’t get the fainting spells or grow tired. There was nearly nothing to speak of.”

“Still,” she said as she propped her elbow on the arm of the chair, resting her chin on her palm, “I feel as if I should have known.”

“What should we do now?” Claude asked. “In the mean time, that is?”

“Wait,” she said with a shrug. “It should take a week, if you remember, for the transformation to fully take place. Then they’ll still be a bit testy, but we can visit them. Until then,” she sat up fully, “they need to remain locked up. Its for their own good.” The last part sounded as if it was more to herself than the rest of the room, but Sebastian took solace in the shaky words anyhow. It was nice to hear.

One week. It wouldn’t be too hard.


	21. Painful Truth

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> WARNING: Semi-graphic descriptions of pain.  
> We finally get to see what Ciel's true form has taken shape of.

That week couldn’t pass fast enough for either of the boys in those secluded rooms. Their bones ached. Their skin crawled and itched. Their nails felt as if they would simply fall out, and their lips were bloody and chapped from where their face smoothed around them. Where Alois’s teeth felt as though they were rotting from the inside out, Ciel’s scalp would ache like he’d been scratching his head for days in the same two spots over and over again.

It was torture. Every now and again, Ciel would black out and wake up with something different in the room: New scratches on the floor, a marred bedpost, even tears in his own clothes. Alois found that his own body wasn’t safe from the brief moments he was possessed by this other, new side. When he awoke, he would sometimes find his arm peppered with small, inflamed holes. They always came in sets of two, and seemed to double each time.

Ciel, exhausted, could find no comfort in the old bed. Instead, he took to the cool floor. It felt nice along his feverish skin. It was only then that he realized it wasn’t a floor at all. It was a wall. He let out a small laugh. Well, he would have if he could find any energy or air to do so. And then, he fell asleep again.

That was only the third night.

* * *

 

The cycle continued for the rest of the week. The pain ebbed away slowly and he found ways to hold back the black outs. He focused on something, anything in the room, and it was easier. He found that the transformations were less painful when he was focusing. He had begun to study himself on the fourth day, checking over his palms and legs when he was able to stay awake. He saw fur along his legs and arms. He had suspicions about it stretching to his torso, but he never stayed awake long enough to check. It wasn’t the same as the other violent black outs. It was more like falling asleep, if anything. He no longer awoke to new scratches on the floors and bed.

He was content.

* * *

 

Alois was more or less the same story for the week, though he found a new way to see his form. He found that, along with the slippery flesh that crept along the length of his body, he seemed to taste the air in some way. The scent of the room was different somehow when he was in his form. It seemed to dance in colors that he shouldn’t have been able to see in the darkness. His fingers didn’t grow into claws, simply rounding at the end to continuing the smooth sensation. He couldn’t feel. The skin was not only smooth, but tough as well. So much so, that he couldn’t get his new fangs through it. He wondered, briefly, if it was skin at all and not some form of shell along his body.

Soon enough, he found himself slowly laying into the bed. He was cold, extremely so, and took comfort in the sheets. Oddly enough, he found that he wasn’t giving off any warmth.

* * *

 

“Ciel. Ciel, it’s time to get up.”

The soothing, familiar voice, was pleasing to hear when Ciel finally shook off the remainder of sleep. He’d gotten little over the last course of the week, but he hadn’t felt more refreshed in that time as he was when he saw Sebastian’s face. He found himself smiling fondly.

“Sebastian,” he said, coughing when he found his throat was sore and dry.

“Shh.” Tender hands reached out and scooped him up to sit him on the bed.

“I can move,” he protested, sitting up fully.

“Good,” Sebastian said, “we were all hopeful of that. Would you like to rest a bit more?”

“You said it was time to get up,” Ciel said. “What’s the occasion?”

“Well, you did just begun to transform into a full demon,” he said. Out of his pocket, he pulled the eye patch. He’d retrieved all of Ciel’s personal belongings from his drawer, and was now tying it around his head with familiar hands. “Having earned your demonic form, we are all quite interested to see what you look like. Do you have an idea what it could be so far?”

Ciel shook his head, trying to remember the glimpses he’d gotten. “I remember fur and claws, but there wasn’t much else.”

Sebastian, at the idea of fur and claws, immediately thought of a cat. Oh what a joy it would be to have his beloved young master turn into a form like that. A beautiful, adorable feline that he could keep forever.

“What about my eyes?” Ciel asked, interrupting his day dream.

“What about them?” Sebastian asked.

He looked down for a while, trying to find a more specific question. “Have they changed?”

Sebastian smiled, “Nonsense. You’re nowhere near that stage.” He leaned in anyway, taking Ciel’s face into his hands. He cradled it as he gently turned him from side to side, examining his eyes. “No, I think you’ll need a few more weeks before that change.” He didn’t pull away, keeping his hands on his face. “Are you looking forward to it?”

Ciel watched as something sparked against Sebastian’s eyes in the dark room. He then noticed the faint light and his eyes traced it back to a small candle on the nightstand. The flame lurched and flickered timidly in its mold of white wax. It was hypnotic in a way. Suddenly, that light triggered something. It was the first light he’d seen in weeks and he just snapped.

He flinched away from Sebastian’s hands, his own fists balling deeply in his hair as they grew long, black claws that pinched his scalp. His bones creaked and snapped through his body, taking their own shape. He had to focus on something. He had to focus on anything to get it to stop.

“Ciel? Are you alright?” Sebastian asked. “Just breath,” he said, “Let it happen , and breath.”

Ciel looked up at him with wild eyes. Demon eyes. This was no longer Ciel, it was his form running on instinct. Sebastian had prepared himself for this and was ready to defend himself, only to a necessary extent. All demons had to do it in these situations. He wouldn’t hurt Ciel, only defend himself if the boy lashed out. Then he would grab the candle, as to make sure Ciel didn't burn himself, and leave the room entirely. Of course, all ideas of being able to hold his own at all evaporated when Ciel took full form.

It was a dog. A demon dog, not a large one of course. It was larger than Ciel, but that was to be expected. The room around him disappeared from under his feet and Ciel _—the dog—_ only seemed to grow taller in front of him. When the rest of the room finally withered away, it was quickly replaced with another place. It was a dense forest he’d seen not too long ago with a canopy so thick he couldn’t see the sun he just knew was supposed to be shining on his skin.

Instead of those warm rays, he just felt as if he was growing smaller and the dog kept getting bigger. It leapt from the bed, and he fell back, hard into one of those trees. His breath quickened and he couldn’t find the air to scream when the beast finally attacked. He shielded his face, but the blow never came.

He pulled his arm away to see a perfect stranger standing in front of him, throwing the dog off with his arm. It wasn’t his arm exactly. From the area just below the elbow on his forearm, a firm spike had sprouted. This is what the man used to throw the dog off.

The forest shattered and Sebastian found himself again. The man who’d saved him was, in fact, Claude. The same Claude who nearly threw him into the hallway, grabbed the candle, and got out just before Ciel threw himself into the door.

He locked the deadbolt and turned to Sebastian with an expression he couldn’t really define.

He didn’t know if it was disbelieving, concerned, or that same stone face he wore at every other time. It very well may have been a mix of three, but there was no more time to think on that as Rhoda appeared from the room next door, Hannah, Alois, and Luca at her side.

Her eyes went wide when she saw Sebastian on the floor and she was at his side in a heartbeat, hand laying over his forehead as she turned to Claude. “What happened?” Rhoda asked.

"He's a _dog,”_ he said simply.

Rhoda didn’t have to hear anymore. She turned back to Sebastian and held him by the shoulders, slowly stroking his neck under his long hair.

“What’s wrong with Mr. Ciel being a puppy?” Luca asked.

“Luca,” Hannah said in a chastening tone.

Sebastian gathered himself and quietly pushed Rhoda away as he stood up, saying, “No, no it’s fine. There is no problem with this turn of events.” He brushed off his blazer, which was rather unnecessary all things considered. He stood there, looking at the ground, and trying to collect his thoughts.

“Ronan, you don’t have to do this,” Rhoda said, though she didn’t stand up from the floor.

He gave her a large smile and offered her his hand. She looked at it wearily before taking it and allowing him to help her up. “It’s fine,” he said. “I was just caught off guard is all. If you shall excuse me, I do not believe that Ciel is well enough to see me today. Perhaps tomorrow.”

He left after saying such without another word.

“What just happened?” Alois asked.

“Nothing for you to be concerned with,” Claude said. “However, I do believe someone else needs to hear of this.”

Rhoda snapped at that. “You can’t!” she said, turning around. “Peirce, I will _not_ allow you to do such a thing to your brother! He will tell Ciel when he is good and ready, and not a minute sooner!”

“Very well then. However, allow me to remind you that this wasn’t the first time I’ve had to push someone out of the path of a transforming demon,” he said simply. “If he breaks down like I only just witnessed, let us hope I will be there the next time.”

Rhoda went pale at the thought and looked down. She bit her lip as the memory of those days came back to her. The screaming and the crying and the unbearable silences. It was the first time that her boys had been separated for so long. There was a period of time before she said, “I’ll think about it, but you won’t say anything otherwise.”

He nodded and walked away.


	22. It's Not Your Fault

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> WARNING: Abuse/more painful descriptions  
> We finally learn just what happened to Sebastian when he was younger.

Ciel shuddered when he woke up on the ground. He vaguely remembered the last time he woke up and wondered where Sebastian had gone. Then he remembered the shift. He looked around for blood or fabric or anything to signal that he’d ended up hurting him, but there was nothing visible in the room. He stood gently, feeling much better from the last time. He just wished that he could have contained himself.

“Sebastian,” he said, attempting to summon the demon. He really wanted to see him again.

Five minutes passed and, not worried, Ciel continued facing the door and called again, “Sebastian.”

Five more minutes of staring at the door in silence. Nothing. He was going to call again when the door finally opened. A light glimmered from the door and, first, a candle entered in a gloved hand. He took it as a test, a precaution if you will. Then he noticed something was odd about the hand. Both it and its sleeve didn’t look like Sebastian’s. This was proven true when the door opened fully. Standing there was Claude Faustus with Rhoda behind him.

“Where’s Sebastian?” he asked, backing up slowly. The look on the faces of the two demons told him that this visit wasn’t a friendly one, and the fact that Sebastian wasn’t responding was something else entirely.

“He’s been locked up in his room,” Claude said as he walked in. “I wouldn’t be surprised if he couldn’t fell your summons. He’s been numb since yesterday.”

So he’d been asleep for day. “What happened? Is something wrong?” Ciel asked. Suddenly his eyes flew open. “Did I hurt him?”

“No,” he said, “you can thank me for that.”

“Pierce!” Rhoda quipped, stepping in as well. She closed the door and sighed. “It’s not your fault, darling. All demons going through their transformations do it. It’s a unique process of pain and confusion. You didn’t hurt anyone otherwise. Ronan just has certain… Ronan just… He-”

“He had an anxiety attack yesterday after seeing your form,” Claude said.

Rhoda shot him a quick glare but it melted away and she was left staring sorrowfully at the ground. “Yes, I suppose that’s what happened.”

Ciel stared for a while. “He did?” he choked out. “How? Why?”

“That is a long story,” Claude said. “You must know something about his history, so tell me what you know. That will stop us from wasting time.”

Ciel thought on that, nodding slowly. “I don’t know much, actually. I know that, whatever this is,” he looked at Rhoda, “it must be related back to Gagnon. Isn’t it?”

Rhoda nodded as well. “Yes, I’m afraid so. Most things do, actually.”

Claude shifted an eyebrow in curiosity. “And do tell, how do you know about Gagnon at all?”

“We ran into him in the market,” Rhoda said. “It was before you got here, so there was no point in mentioning it.” She looked back up to Ciel. “He’s our neighbor, but I suppose you knew that.”

“I did,” Ciel said. “But that doesn’t explain everything.”

“Of course not,” Claude said. “Like I said, it’s a long story. I don’t even know where to begin myself.”

“Well, I’ll listen,” Ciel said. “It’s not as though I’m going anywhere.”

Rhoda and Claude looked at one another before turning back to him.

“We were eight years old, and the rainy season had just ended,” Claude began.

* * *

Two boys played around the courtyard of their sizable home. The stones that made up the ground were new and free of cracks, and the sides of the castle were clear of ivy or any signs of age. Well, aside from the wear and tear that came from children battering it with balls and attempting to run up the sides. But it was minimal damage, and hardly amounted to the excitement and joy that came from it. It was quite the small price to pay for that joy.

However, one of those boys was not feeling so joyful. He was forced out of the house on this hot day by his brother. Younger of only a few minutes, his mother made sure that he took care of his brother whenever he could. So, when Ronan wanted to play, Pierce was obligated to follow. But he didn’t have to like it.

Finally, he saw his opportunity. He looked at the rickety old fence that stood opposite to the door from the dining room, the one that marched around their neighbor’s yard in an attempt to keep out trespassers. It wasn’t a high fence, so it wasn’t that hard to effectively throw their prized ball over that small fence, landing it squarely in the neighbor’s yard.

 _“Pierce!”_ the other boy yelled as he raced over to the fence. He stood on his toes to look over the fence. The ball wasn’t in sight, as it had been shot far into the trees that dotted the other’s yard.

“There goes the ball,” Pierce said. “My bad.”

Ronan turned back to his brother, face scrunched in childish anger. “You did that on purpose!” he said. Pierce was already walking inside. “Hey!” he scampered over from the fence and cut him off before he could get to the door. “Momma said you had to play with me!”

“Well, we can’t play if we don’t have a ball,” Pierce said, stomping past him. He looked back at him as he opened the door. “If you want to play so badly, _go get it.”_

And then he slammed the door in his face, abruptly enough that it made the other boy jump. He glared sharply at the door before whirling around.

Children are not stupid; they simply don’t know any better. They don’t know a lot of things until we teach them. The things they learn should be how to ride bikes and where to find the best hiding places in hide and seek. But little Ronan still hadn’t learned one thing: Why he shouldn’t go over the fence.

 _He’s probably just a grumpy old man like Pierce says,_ he thought to himself, _he probably can’t hurt me. I’m really fast too, so I’ll be over and back quickly. Momma doesn’t need to know._

So he walked over to the old tree fort their mother had built for them on the side of the castle itself. He crawled up the rope ladder and eventually got his hands on the milk crate he and Pierce used as a table. He gave a mischievous grin as he placed it at the base of the fence and slowly, deliberately, pulled himself up. He swung his legs over the wood and landed softly on the other side.

* * *

 

“I didn’t _mean_ for him to actually do it,” Claude said suddenly. “I didn’t think he’d actually be _stupid_ enough to climb over the fence.”

“I know,” Rhoda said in a kind tone. She didn’t look at either of them. “It’s not your fault.”

“Nor is it _yours,”_ Claude said. “Try to keep that in mind.”

* * *

 

Rhoda had been dodging around all day, trying to clean the house properly. It was hard job, all things considered. She was even considering hiring a maid for the house.

As she was cleaning and jumping about, she stumbled upon the dining room. She’d left all of the doors inside the house open, as well as a few leading to the outside, to allow it to air out a bit, so she had a clear line of sight to the dining room when she walked by. There she saw Pierce sitting at the dining table, a multitude of pencils strewn about the table along with papers and the like.

His back was turned to her as she walked over to him.

“Pierce,” he jumped as she said his name, “why aren’t you outside?”

Pierce calmed himself and adjusted his glasses. “Ronan threw the ball over the fence, so we stopped playing.”

She groaned internally, knowing full well what really happened. She briefly thought of how she would apologize to Mr. Gagnon, their long time neighbor, for yet another ball landing on his property. “Where’s Ronan?” she asked.

What answered her wasn’t Pierce. It was a scream. The scream of something that had been wounded, a cornered animal perhaps. But, under that scream, was a familiar tone. It was the tone of a boy, her son. She went pale and stood still for some time, trying to push the thought out of her mind. It couldn’t be him. Pierce knew better, looking up at her with scared eyes.

“Mommy?” he choked out.

“Stay here!” she called, already ripping open the dining room doors, which lead to the courtyard.

There she saw the milk crate by the fence, and it didn’t take more than that to know what had happened. She jumped the fence in one bound and landed on the ground with burly paws, running and leaping as fast as she could through the dark woods. Her face formed into a long muzzle and stubby ears with patches of fur here and there. Her son was in danger- Ronan was in danger!

The scene was easy to read when she finally found them, skidding to a halt when she recognized the figure laying in shuddering heap at the base of a tree. He was crying as the figure looming over him drew nearer. Before he could raise a hand, Rhoda was standing over her son. She growled fiercely in that of a bear. This was her form, and she was going to use it to defend her son to the last breath.

For this, she was given a small chuckle.

The demonic form melted from the man before her, only to reveal a sharply dressed man with graying hair and eyes as black as his suit.

“Rhoda, what a surprise,” he said. “It appears that trespassing runs in the family.”

She didn’t drop her form, opting to growl and spit out the words, “Get _away_ from my _son!”_

“Now now, Rhoda, I was just teaching the boy a lesson. He really should have learned to stay out of here by now. Don’t you teach your children right from wrong?” he asked, daring to step forward. He paused before turning around. “Whatever. You should probably get him home now. I mean, just look at him. He’s a mess.”

She snuck a look back at her boy, not dropping her guard.

Feathers sprung from his arms and he coughed and spat, mouth attempting to spring from his face. The shaking intensified and he let out a pained screech.

“What did you do?” she asked.

“Oh Rhoda, don’t they teach you anything at that mother hen school?” he asked, turning around. “This is simply his transition into a full demon. Nothing more! Well, I suppose that’s not the whole truth-”

“He’s only eight!” Rhoda yelled.

“Yes, but it can be jumpstarted,” he said. “In life or death situations, such as a drowning or falling off a cliff, or even something as brutal as an attack from a full demon.” Her breath hitched. “Now, you really should get him home. If you really don’t know anything about demons, I’ll give you something: demonic transformations are painful and dangerous. He could hurt himself if you let him run around right now.”

She looked back at him, and then to Gagnon. “And you’ll just let us go?” she asked. “No more fighting?”

“Why should I fight you?” he asked with a chuckle. He nodded to Ronan, “As for him, he’s learned his lesson. He won’t be back here.”

Rhoda didn’t take her eyes off of him, but let her form recede, picking up the boy on the ground. Then she was gone, launching through the trees. He was right, after all, it was dangerous for him to be out like this.

She reached the fence, took it again, and then dashed inside, past a frightened Pierce. He didn’t look at his mother. Instead, he focused on the still-screaming boy who wreathed and twitched in her arms with blood splattered across his face.

“Is he hurt?” he asked, a panicked look taking his features.

 _“Stay here!”_ Rhoda ordered as she stormed past him and up the stairs.

He followed slowly but his legs were too weak to make it far. “I’m sorry Ronan.” He was never one for crying but he couldn’t stop now. “I’m _sorry.”_

* * *

 

“It was the most _violent_ transformation I’ve ever seen,” Rhoda said. “Not to mention, it was the first. I called the matron to ask for her help, and she did. It took a month for it to complete, and it happened all at once- the eyes, the speed, the form- everything.”

“Not to mention,” Claude added, “he didn’t have any time to recover from Gagnon’s attack. The wounds kept reopening and, when they didn’t do it on their own, his form did it for him.”

Claude and Rhoda remembered the nights vividly, filled with screaming and scratching on the worn floor. The window that was shattered open and the dangerous transportation to the broom closet while they filled the sill in with bricks. Rhoda remembered how lonely and scared Claude had been, and Claude remembered having to knock his mother out of the way when Sebastian attacked her and her back was turned.

“So that’s what happened with Gagnon,” Ciel said, looking down in surprise. All along, Sebastian had his own traumas. “And that’s why when he saw my form he-”

“There’s more to that,” Claude said. “Something else you need to know about Gagnon.” He looked at Ciel with a pointed glare. “His form is a dog demon, as well.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So there you have it, I hope I didn't disappoint.


	23. Sorry

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ciel and Sebastian take some time to think about what exactly they mean to one another.

Ciel felt like the largest bastard in the entirety of the universe. That’s why Sebastian hated dogs.

Every time someone said his title, every playful bark, every time he referred to him as his dog- the demon dog village- he had named him after a dog for crying out loud!

Ciel had been triggered by less- even getting water swept into his mouth in the tub had upset him- but Sebastian had to have pressed through so much more. Every time he noticed the fear and played off of it later. How could he have never realized what they all had in common: Dogs.

He looked up. “Do you think I’m well enough to leave this room?” he asked.

Rhoda, as if sensing what he wanted to do, shot up and said, “No. No, you can’t go to see him.”

“I need to,” he said. “I need to talk to him.”

“No!” Rhoda said flatly. “He’s in a delicate place right now, he needs time to recover. What would you do if you happened to-?”

“Let him,” Claude said. “He won’t do any harm. You can sense it as well. The energy from yesterday is gone, depleted. He’s settled.”

She looked up at Claude before speaking to Ciel. “Even if he won’t change, Ronan might still be… testy.”

“I need to talk to him,” Ciel said. “I need to.”

Her eyes lidded and she looked tired, as though she aged rapidly with those words. Regardless, she stepped back and Claude opened the door. He followed the unfamiliar path of hallways with a slow walk and heavy steps until he found the door to Sebastian’s room. His fingers traced up his face to find the eye patch that hung on his face, if a bit looser than when Sebastian had originally tied it the day before.

He didn’t know how it was still on, but he tightened the knot. He stood in slightly ripped shorts and a fairly torn dress shirt. He didn’t care. He laid a hand on the knob and firmly twisted it before pulling it open.

What he saw was similar to the night after he’d first heard of Mr. Gagnon. Sebastian’s back was to him, but he was lying on his side this time on the large bed. The curtains were drawn and he was taking ragged, shallow breaths. Ciel closed the door and stepped inside, which caused him to turn around.

Magenta eyes turned to slits before turning back over to face the dark wall.

“Sebas- ,” he stopped on that name. He didn’t know how he would react to that name now that he knew just why he’d detested it so much in the beginning. “Ronan.”

That got him moving. This time, he turned around with red irises. “I’m sorry?” he asked.

“I thought I should start calling you Ronan now. It’s your name, isn’t it?” Ciel said, trying to put on a front of strength. It melted when he couldn’t hold it up anymore, and he slumped a bit from the effort.

“Yes,” he said, sitting up in the bed, “but you don’t have to call me that.”

“Rhoda told me,” he said. “Claude too. They told me what happened to you and with Gagnon.”

Sebastian stared at him, and Ciel let him. He didn’t know what he would do if someone close to him found out about his past. What he would do if Elizabeth had come to him to apologize for always trying to hold his hand or hug him because she found out why he preferred not to be touched. This was almost the same thing only so much worse. This was Sebastian, who made a point to hold such a strong front in the face of danger.

Ciel stepped forward and walked over to the bed. He looked down. “So, if you want, I can start calling you Ronan so you don’t have to remember what happened to you.”

Sebastian looked at him with eyes that reflected inferiority and seemed to question him. Ciel didn’t really like that look there. Not only was it a look that just didn’t belong on Sebastian, but it also made Ciel quite upset.

He opened his mouth to speak, but he was cut off when two strong arms brought him forward to Sebastian’s chest. Sebastian’s head was pressed into his shoulder and Ciel had one knee up on the bed as he leaned forward. Sebastian was hugging him. He brought his hands up to reciprocate the hug when he noticed his shoulder was growing a bit wet and the way that Sebastian’s body was still rocking with each choked sob. It was new to see him crying. It wasn’t the calm crying he’d walked in on so long ago; it was real crying.

He couldn’t help but think about just how much he really didn’t know about Sebastian. He’d seen small vulnerabilities before in the past, but nothing like this.

The crying died down quickly once the initial emotion was out and Sebastian pulled back to place his chin on his shoulder. Ciel tried to remember what others had done to him when he was upset, and started to slowly trace circles into Sebastian’s muscular back. It was somewhat comical, actually, to see this small child having to comfort such a large man. Of course, as we know, there’s more to it than that.

“Call me Sebastian,” he said suddenly, his tone significantly more even. “I don’t mind the name like I used to.”

Ciel resisted the urge to pull back and look at him as he asked, “Are you sure?”

Sebastian actually laughed at that. “Yes, I’m quite sure. As long as you don’t think of the previous Sebastian when you say it.” Ciel smiled. “It’s a lot more than a name, to me. It’s the title you gave me, and if I’m to be completely honest, it’s grown on me. While I could have done without all of the canines you put me in contact with in my time as your servant, I still believe that the name is something I could continue to live with.”

“I’m sorry about those too,” he said. “I kept shoving dogs your way just to annoy you, and I wouldn’t even let you keep a damn cat in your room. Not that I stopped you any way.”

Sebastian chuckled, the sound vibrating through both of them and said, “It’s quite alright. You didn’t know, after all. Not to mention, I did get you back with all of those cats.”

They stayed like that for a while, Ciel moving up further on the bed so that he was just a bit more comfortable. He continued rubbing circles into Sebastian’s back until Sebastian pulled away and looked down at him. His eyes weren’t puffy like anyone else’s eyes would be after crying like that. They were normal in color, and looked kindly at him. His mouth even formed a small smile. That smile fell slowly into a serene, calm look.  He leaned forward, and Ciel leaned up in response.

They kissed.

It wasn’t heated and full of emotion. It wasn’t dominant and powerful. It wasn’t even passionate or long.

It was a simple kiss of quiet, closed lips that lasted no more and no less than two seconds. It was a kiss that left Ciel staring up at him for some time, lost. Sebastian looked just as lost, if not more so, with a hint of apology. Ciel cut that off by pulling his arms from Sebastian’s back and wrapping them around his neck before slowly pulling him down with him to rest in the bed.

Sebastian’s breathing had evened out and they both fell asleep quickly, calmed by the other’s presence.

* * *

 

Ciel didn’t know what time it was when he eventually woke up, but the light was no longer prodding at the drapes. He didn’t really care about that though. He only cared about the fact that he was tightly wrapped in Sebastian’s arms and that, before they fell asleep, they’d even kissed.

He wanted to push his face into his hands and groan, but one of his arms was trapped under the other demon. He couldn’t stop thinking about everything they’d been through together. That, added to what happened last night, made something that Ciel wasn’t entirely sure of.

As he studied those smooth features, he knew that what Sebastian was going through wasn’t as simple as the day before had been. He briefly thought of what would happen if he continued reminding Sebastian of his past. He wondered if Sebastian should forget at all. After all, his trauma made him strong.

But Sebastian’s trauma did not make him strong. It made him weak and scared. This was only the beginning though. He just had to do him the same courtesy Sebastian did him in his early stages. As he thought about this, Ciel pressed his face into Sebastian’s chest. The action was comforting, but it made him a bit embarrassed. He didn’t know why he wanted to do these things in the first place.

Suddenly, a hand rose along his side and found its way into his hair, carding through it gently.

“S-Sebastian?” he asked.

The hand stilled and the demon moved back a bit to look him in the eye. He’d put on one of his fake smiles. “Good morning,” he said before sitting up slightly in the bed. “I didn’t realize you were up so early. Would you like to dress and start the day?”

“Sebastian, it’s dark outside. We fell asleep in the middle of the afternoon,” Ciel said.

Sebastian turned around to the curtains. “So it appears,” he said. He looked back at Ciel and said, “Still, I don’t believe it can be too late in the day, and I’m sure that you wouldn’t want to be dressed in those clothes for much longer.”

Ciel looked down at the clothes he was wearing, still torn from his week in the transformation room.

“Yes, I suppose you’re right,” he said.

With that, he allowed himself to be clothed in proper clothes, staring vacantly at the wall as he thought of the night before. There was the embrace, the words shared, and even that kiss—but, above all, there was now a mutual understanding that he would now forever share with Sebastian. They now had something between them he couldn’t ignore. He wondered what would happen now. The only other person he’d ever felt something so remotely strong for was Elizabeth, but she was gone now.

What if Alois was right? What if he did feel something more for Sebastian than just his butler, or his friend for that matter?

He gave a small smile as he thought to himself, _It seems that those questions are answered now._

“Sebastian?” he said.

“Yes?”

“May I ask you a question?”

Sebastian looked up at him with another smile. It wasn’t a real one. It was, yet again, that forced one he put on for guests and whenever he was being smug about something. “Of course.”

“What are we now?” he asked.

He dropped the smile as it turned to a look of surprise. “What ever do you mean?”

He shrugged slightly, trying not to appear as frazzled as he was. “I know that what I’m feeling isn’t new between us. You must feel it too, don’t you?”

Sebastian stood slowly and walked forward to look down at Ciel from where he sat on the bed.

“I cannot lie. I do, and I have for a long time now. However, I don’t know what that makes us,” he said. “I used to think it was a rivalry of sorts, to see who could make our time together the most uncomfortable.”

He reached a hand forward as he talked and grabbed Ciel’s from where it lay on the bed. He reciprocated by gently running his thumb over the fingers, still ungloved from the night before. It was a new sensation, the feeling of Sebastian’s hands. Not so much so to say he’d never felt it before, but enough that it was somewhat exiting to see their black nails dance along each other’s pale skin.

“I know exactly what you mean,” he said, looking up and away from the hands. “I used to want nothing more than to finish our contract and be rid of you, but now I can’t imagine a life without you. I know I would have been happy with Lizzie, and my parents, and even inheriting the company the proper way, but I can’t say I would be happier if I knew that I had lost you.” His breath caught at the confession, though it was let out in a very matter-of-fact tone. He wished that Sebastian would react somehow rather than just stand there. Regardless, he went on, “It isn’t just you, either. It’s everything you did for me and everything you are. I don’t know when but, I think I truly care for you know. I’d even go as far as to say I think of you as something more than a friend.”

Sebastian smiled. It was genuine and Ciel was all too grateful for that.

“I feel the same way,” he said. “I wished not too long ago to devour your soul. In fact, I thought the same near the end. You have to understand that, when a demon eats a soul, it’s a lot more than just a meal. It becomes part of them. It’s the reason we have person summoning rituals, you know: To ensure that we can get the soul we desire most. It’s hard to discern that feeling of wanting something to complete yourself from wanting someone to complete yourself. In short, it took you becoming a demon for me to finally see that it wasn’t your soul that I wanted most.” He stopped and looked puzzled for a moment. “Well, perhaps it was. After all,” his grip tightened, “your soul is part of you.”

Ciel gave a soft smile at that and nodded. “If we feel the same way, should we act on these feelings?”

“I don’t see why not. That is, unless they make you uncomfortable,” Sebastian said. “Either way, I still don’t know what acting on these feelings would make us.”

It was too profound to simply call them something as cliché as “lovers,” and Ciel knew that all too well.

“We can figure it out,” he said. “We always do, after all.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope this wasn't too abrupt for anyone. I know that we're only about fifty thousand words into this story (the length of the average hard-cover novel) but I felt like it was time for them to kiss and get together already.


	24. It's All About the Form

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> We find out just what kind of form Alois has taken, and Ciel asks Sebastian for something kind of personal.

Shortly after Alois was back on his feet, things went back to the way they were before they transformed. The only difference was that he and Ciel now openly used the drawing room as opposed to the library while Rhoda continued their family time in the parlor. This way, they were closer in case of emergencies.

Every now and again, Luca and Hannah would join them for a board game. More often than not, however, they were left to their own devices, and that was exactly how it was that day.

“So, you’re really a snake then?” Ciel asked.

“Yep. Can you believe it? I have venom and everything!” Alois boasted. “And all you have are some stupid claws.”

“Tch, I’d rather have claws than fangs. It seems like they’d get in the way with how big they are,” Ciel says.

“You’re only judging from the bite marks though!” Alois protested as he motioned to the bandages that still covered his arms. “They’re actually a lot smaller. I think Miss Hannah said they grow when they bite into something or something like that—anyway, the point is that they’re actually a pretty nice length.”

“Yea, sure. Just take your turn already.”

“They are!” he insisted. Suddenly he shot up from the couch with a look that was so determined, it was scary.  “I can show you, if you want!”

Ciel’s eyes opened at that. “Really?”

“Yea, we can both do it!” he said. “I kind of wanna see that dog form of yours- it’ll be fun! What d’ya say?”

Ciel thought on it for a small while before chuckling and standing up. “Just so you know, I’ve never summoned my form properly before.”

“It’s alright! Neither have I! Miss Hannah said it would come naturally. For now, let’s just face each other and hope for the best!”

So they did. They stood, facing each other with equal footing and an intense stare. It isn’t hard to summon a form, actually, many demons do it quite naturally. First, you start with the aura- all very natural thing, it is. It’s all too easy to let that aura seep out of you in excess, as all demons possess it. Then your body will slowly react to the cocoon.

That’s just what Ciel felt as he was coated in darkness. He felt his nails grow, scraping against that once gaseous cloud as his legs grew and his eyes flickered in his skull. He felt his jaw extend forward, though the pain was all too tolerable now that he’d grown accustomed to it, and teeth sharpen into fangs. Soon, that aura shattered into shards of black bone, which scattered about the room in every which way.

At that same time, an equal aura of demonic energy broke into pieces of black rock.

He looked up to see Alois’s form, completed with those magenta eyes embedded into a face that seemed smoother, though his skin did not change there. Perhaps that illusion of smoother skin came from the fact that his nose was noticeably smaller over his wide mouth where two long fangs poked out  over his bottom lip. His arms were coated in green scaled that covered even where his nails should have been, and those scales stretched over his torso as well. Alois’s form had something of a vest, and those shoe/pants that Sebastian possessed were replaced with a pair of shorts and knee-high boots. Of course, they were all made with that same black material.

“Whoa!” Alois said, looking to the side and into the mirror in the room. “We look bloody fantastic, don’t we?”

Ciel came to stand next to him in the mirror, examining his lengthy hair and longer muzzle-shaped nose and mouth. His arms seemed to hunch a bit, even as he rolled them in their sockets. His legs took a slightly wider stance to support him, as he had gained a bit of muscle in this new form. This muscle was coated in fur along his legs, which ended in large paws and stemmed from shorts. He took a moment to appreciate the fact that they were longer than Alois’s, even as he laid eyes on the tail that surely stemmed from them. His shirt didn’t look like armor, as Alois’s vest did, but more so like a slim black shirt that came over his palms, leaving only his fingers free to show him the long black claws. What surprised him the most, were the two large ears that sprung from his head.

His hands rose to run his fingers over the newly-formed jaw line as he studied his own magenta eyes. He’d seen them before, but they looked a bit different now as he stared at their shared reflection.

“How about these clothes?” Alois said, looking himself up and down in the mirror. “Miss Hannah said we’ll learn to personalize them later.”

Ciel nodded dumbly before getting a grip on himself. “It’s quite the pity you can’t do the same for your face. What happened to your nose?”

Alois paused and snickered. “You’re one to talk! Look at that _shnoz!”_

“I’d rather have this than that those fangs. You said they were smaller, but they’re bigger than I thought they would be. Mine are far more manageable,” he said.

Their banter escalated from the face to their arms and all the way down to Ciel’s paws and Alois’s lack of fingernails until they were both surprised by the door opening abruptly.

Standing there were, of course, all three of the strange demon family, accompanied by Hanna and Luca. Ciel’s eyes flickered to Sebastian immediately, hoping he wouldn’t be put off by his transformation again. Luckily, all that was there was a look of amusement, which was shared by the group.

“I see you’ve figured out how to transform,” Hannah said.

“Wow, big brother!” Luca said, running into the room and right up to Alois. “You look amazing!”

“See, Ciel. Two votes for me!” Alois said. “I look amazing.”

“Oh! It’s been ages since I’ve seen a snake demon form!” Rhoda said, rushing over. “My last one was a little one named Jerome- he was so precious! Of course, I didn’t think so at the time with him biting into everything, but that’s something completely different!”

She continued talking on and on about more children they would never meet, and Ciel slowly let his form slip away, the act not requiring the aura as forming it had.

He looked over to the doorway and saw Claude sneak a small glare at Sebastian before walking away, the other not noticing at all. This was because Sebastian was trying to hold back the uproar of laughter that was building in his throat.

“And what, may I ask, has you so amused?” Ciel asked.

“Nothing more than the childish act of bragging over your form,” he said. “It is quite alright, most demons do the same thing when they first get them.”

“It wasn’t childish!” he said. “I was just making a point.”

“And what point was that?” he asked.

“Ciel said that my fangs were too big but, obviously, they’re the perfect size,” Alois said, “Isn’t that right, Luca?”

“Yes, your majesty!”

* * *

 

They didn’t have to sleep. They didn’t have to, and Ciel couldn’t even be fooled by that at this point, but with Rhoda sleeping the nights away, and Ita as well for the most part, the house was pretty dead at night anyhow. Still, Sebastian was surprised to awake one day to find Ciel already up, looking into the mirror on the wall.

“So, does this mean I’m a pride demon now?” he asked, knowing full well that Sebastian was awake. “I’ve meant to ask sooner, but it appears we’ve been a bit distracted as of late.”

“I’m afraid not,” he said, pausing to groan slightly as he stood from the bed. “The transformation usually comes in stages. You acquired the base for your abilities, which you found in the park when you could run faster than a human, and now you have your form. Next, your eyes will come in. Then we will know for sure, and you’ll really be a full demon.”

Sebastian smiled greatly at this as he stood behind Ciel, hands placed squarely on his shoulders. Ciel reached a hand up with a smirk of his own as he raised his left hand to pull Sebastian’s down from his shoulder. This way he could compare their marks in the mirror.

“Do you think your mother knows about us?”

Sebastian froze.

“You told her, then?” Ciel scoffed. “You’re really attached at the hip, aren’t you?”

“Absolutely not,” he said. “Besides, I wouldn’t tell her without asking you, especially considering we still don’t have a word for this.”

“Then how does she know?” he asked.

“Well, to be honest, she doesn’t know. She simply inferred long before we established that there was a thing in the first place. So, there for, she knows nothing.”

Ciel chuckled slightly. “Apparently, she knew a lot more than we did.”

The topic made him think of the other members of the household. He wondered if they could see the closer relationship that had developed slowly between the two of them. This, of course, led him to think of Alois.

“Why did he take so long to transform?” he asked. “I mean, compared to him, I only took a short while.”

“Well, to be perfectly honest, your recovery from your transformation was quite quick,” Sebastian said. “In fact, we all expected you two to take longer. We even had bandages ready for your eyes in case.”

“Bandages?” Ciel asked.

“Oh yes. Your eyes, when they change, will be highly sensitive to light. So much so, we’ll need to bandage them tightly to block out the light and ensure they develop properly. Of course, they would sting a great deal if we didn’t. In fact, blindness is always a product we worry about during that stage.” He leaned in close to Ciel’s ear with a large grin painted over his face. “So, it appears I’m going to have to watch you very closely until you enter that stage. For your protection, of course.”

He smirked. “I see. It’s unavoidable, in that case. How troublesome. I can never seem to be rid of you, can I?”

“Not in one million years.”

Ciel hummed and laid back a bit into Sebastian’s arms. He looked at them together for some time before his gaze was drawn to Sebastian’s red eyes.

“Can I see it?” he asked.

“What do you mean?”

He looked away. “I know you have a good reason for not liking your form, but still…” Sebastian locked up a bit. “You don’t have to.”

“No, no, it’s a very reasonable thing,” he said. “Forms are very personal, as I’ve stated, and those demons that are close to one another have an instinctual urge to see each other in that light.” He thought for some time, weighing everything both good and bad. “It’s a very grotesque form.”

“So you’ve told me.”

“You won’t like it.”

“That’s for me to judge.”

He nodded slightly and said, “Then please take a seat on the bed.”

It was hard, but Ciel managed to peal himself away from Sebastian to take a proper seat on the bed. Sebastian looked at him, mirror still to his right, before he closed his eyes and the change took place.

He shifted his shoulders back and took in a deep breath as a dark aura seeped out of his body, masking him entirely. Ciel could only watch in awe as the bubble that had taken Sebastian over changed slightly, becoming somewhat fuzzy. It was then that he realized it wasn’t fuzz at all, but feathers. He knew that the form had something to do with a crow, but he didn’t know what that entailed. Now, those feathers would melt away and show him just what this form really looked like.

And show him they did.

They ceased their twirling, most of them disappeared completely here and there, and he could see Sebastian once again. He followed from his head, which seemed to flow with longer hair down to his arms. He was surprised to see that his clothes had changed. This form didn’t have a shirt, which let Ciel see the feathers that coated his arms, making them appear as dark wings instead. The wings ended with the familiar pale hands and black nails, which seemed longer than the ones from before. For some reason, the rest his body was entirely featherless. This allowed the pale skin of his toned torso to show all the way down to a pair of dark pants. These pants didn’t really end, as they just continued on, covering his feet in the same dark material. It looked like leather, but it seemed smoother in a way that he couldn’t really define any material by. The shoes, of course, were not normal. Instead, they were actually rather high heels, which only added to his intimidating height.

Finally, after examining this foreign body, he looked up to Sebastian’s face. His red eyes were replaced with magenta, and four teeth poked over his lips: two from the top, and two from the bottom. When he looked closer at Sebastian’s face, he saw that those magenta eyes carried a sense of worry about them.

So, he decided to finally say something. “You look amazing.”

Sebastian scoffed and looked away. “You’re just attempting to reassure me.”

“No, no! It’s true!” he said. He stood up, but Sebastian flinched back at the motion. “I’m sorry.”

He sighted calmed down significantly when he realized he flinched. “Don’t apologize, but you really don’t need to say anything nice about this form.” He looked to his right, into the mirror. “It’s absolutely revolting.”

Ciel, cautiously this time, took another step forward. “I don’t think so.” He continued walking forward when Sebastian didn’t respond and stood next to him in the mirror. He didn’t look at the reflection, knowing that Sebastian could see every movement, and that he wouldn’t be surprised, he reached out a tentative hand and touched the skin of his stomach. He smiled softly, continuing to trace his fingers over the pale torso as he spoke.

“I think it looks quite brilliant, personally.” Ciel’s hand rose to Sebastian’s collar bone before coming over to the feathers along his arm. “These feathers are soft and glossy. Your skin is breath-taking, though I’m sure that’s not too different from your humanoid form.” He looked at his face and reached his left hand up slowly, “As for your face,” Sebastian tensed but allowed the hand that cupped his cheek to force his eyes down. “Brilliant as before.”

Sebastian kept his neutral expression. “I know you’re only saying that. I must look like a monster to you.”

“I’ve seen monsters, Sebastian. You’re no monster,” Ciel said. “In fact, you’ve saved my life in this form, though I didn’t get to see it. I trusted it then, didn’t I?”

“You didn’t know what it looked like,” he said as he turned away from the hand that had laid on his face.

Ciel scowled slightly before entwining both arms around Sebastian’s neck. It was difficult, due to the supreme height difference created by his heels, but he managed a slow kiss. He made sure not to fall back at all as they continued, paying attention to Sebastian’s fangs in particular, playing with the feathers that seemed to reach over his shoulder blades. Thankfully, Sebastian reciprocated before he gently pulled away.

“Now do you believe me?”

Sebastian looked at him with surprise before managing a smile.

Their moment was interrupted by a knock at the door, which startled Sebastian into shedding his form. It went a lot quicker than it did to put it up, but he was glad for it when Rhoda entered without waiting for a response.

“Did he shift?!” she asked, panic in her voice. “Are you two okay? I sensed a great amount of demonic energy and-”

Her voice trailed off when she saw the feathers lying on the ground and the position they were in at the moment. It didn’t help at all when Alois scampered over and behind her.

“I knew you two were a thing!” he said accusingly. “Here I am all rested up, and neither of you come and see me because you’re busy shagging the night away?” He scoffed jokingly.

“Absolutely not!” Ciel all but yelled, blushing furiously in response as he backed away from the newly tired Sebastian.

“Oh whatever. Come on, Miss Rhoda. Let’s give them some privacy.” He winked at Ciel before stepping forward to pull Rhoda away gently and shut the door.

“I suppose she’s not inferring anymore,” Sebastian said in a weak tone.

“I knew it!” Rhoda yelled from outside the door.s

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sebastian is a momma's boy.


	25. The Rise and Fall

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rhoda finds something that can finally allow her to rest in peace.

The next day, their rather dysfunctional household decided to take a trip into town. It would be the first time Claude left the house since he’d arrived and Ciel and Sebastian’s first since the ferry ride. Ciel had expected it to go a bit smoother than the first time with Rhoda as a peacemaker, and she’d possibly keep things interesting as well.

Of course, this idea was quite the foolish one, as he felt eyes on him from seemingly every angle. He knew that Rhoda was watching their every move. He couldn’t help but feel a bit insecure in regards to it.

They’d had a talk with Rhoda, of course, after they’d been found out. Ciel was glad to hear straight from a demon herself that homosexuality was accepted in hell, but the rest of the conversation was just so draining and embarrassing that de didn’t even know where to start. They’d discussed everything from acceptable behaviors around other members of the house (hand holding/hugs/minimal kisses) straight into different types of demonic protection in the way of sexual activities.

He didn’t even understand why he had to sit through that, it wasn’t like he and Sebastian were up to anything like that.

Either way, now they had to deal with scrutinizing looks from Rhoda, making sure they weren’t sneaking off for less-than-desirable activities.

And I thought Lizzie’s mom was bad, Ciel thought to himself as he resisted the urge to glare at Rhoda.

Luckily, something else was there to snag her attention.

“Oh my gosh! Is that Pierce?” a familiar voice called, causing Ciel to look over at a vending stall. Standing there was Birgit herself, gawking at the group. “Well, look at you all! Haven’t seen you in a while! Especially you then- when did you get back?”

Claude simply sat. “A while before.”

“Oh, this is great! The boys are back together! Ugh- you two were such trouble makers as kids! Don’t tell me you’re back to dump another shipment of flour over, are you?”

Ciel held back a snicker while Alois and Hannah quietly snorted at the idea.

“We thought it was sugar,” Claude complained slightly.

“Well, whatever the case, you’re not allowed to knock my sugar over!” Birgit laughed for a small while before laying her eyes on Rhoda. “Oh, yea, Rhoda! James said he’s got something big for you. Something like- uh- files? Maybe? I dunno, can’t remember that well. You should ask him.”

Rhoda looked a bit puzzled at first but then nodded slowly. “Yes-yes! Thank you Birgit!” she turned back to the group. “I suppose I’ll be gone for a small while. Stay out of trouble, you lot!”

Birgit waited until she was gone to mumble, “Huh, I wonder if it was a new assignment,” before she turned back to the rest of the group with a large grin. “Anyway, what can I get for you all?”

“Nothing, thank you,” Sebastian said, pulling Ciel away gently. “We’re off to the park, actually.”

 “Can we go to the park too?” Luca asked tugging on Hannah’s skirt.

“Why don’t we stay here?” Alois asked, getting on eye level with his brother. “Come on, this is way more fun than some dumb park! Right?”

“I completely agree,” Hannah said with a smile directed at Sebastian.

“Oh, alright,” Luca said, not dropping his wide grin.

Sebastian and Ciel both nodded their thanks to their respective demons before getting out of there.

“Aw, so who are these two?” Birgit asked Hannah, leaning over. “I don’t think I’ve seen them around here before!”

“These are my sons!” Hannah said, looking down to her right.

“Aw! Well I can see that!” She motioned down to Alois “This one has your-” Hannah turned to her, showing her full face, causing Birgit to pause, “…eye?”

Birgit sat there for a while trying to process everything. First of all, how did a full demon have an eye color that differed from a sin? Secondly, why did a demon have bicolor eyes in the first place? 

There were so many questions running through her mind and, strangely enough, she looked down to the youngest for answers.

Luca smiled. “It’s okay! Big brother’s eye grew back!”

* * *

 

Rhoda snaked through the streets until she finally reached her destination: Pawn Shop.

She gently pushed open the door, making sure no one saw her enter. There was no reason she couldn’t enter the pawn shop on a normal occasion, but it was that burning paranoia that kept her looking around the door as she gently pushed it shut.

She turned around, coming face to face with the man who called her there.

“My wondrous little setter,” he purred, leaning forward as he placed an arm over her head. “And just what brings you to this neck of the woods?”

She wasn’t smiling. In fact, one could say she was grimacing up at the man before her.

“James, you know I adore your antics, but today is not a good day. Please tell me you have something serious to talk about.”

He sighed deeply and fell back from the door. “Sorry, miss. I was just trying to get you to relax a bit.”

“I know you meant well,” she said, letting a small smile grace her lips. “Just please tell me what you found.”

“Well, it turns out Mr. ‘I don’t like kids’ was a bit of a hypocrite at one point,” James said as he led her over to the counter at the back of the store. He pulled out a large file of papers and slammed it down on the counter. “Or twenty points, I should say.”

She dove forward, opening the file and looking through it. Pictures of children ages one to ten filled the pages, all under the surname of Gagnon.

“All of these, they’re recent. But I haven’t seen any children on his property in my life!” she said, looking up at him with a worried look.

“It’s interesting, isn’t it?” he asked, demeanor entirely changed. “No one has seen a single child in his care- but this is all very official paper work. He’s adopted twenty three children in his life time.”

“How does a man get that many children without once being questioned?” she asked.

“You know how the adoption system works. Background checks are sketchy and rushed. All it would take is going to a center outside of town. It’s tragic, but true.” He looked up at her with a dead expression in his eyes. “So, do you think this is enough to give old Gag the boot?”

She smiled. “This is plenty.” Rhoda shuffled the file closed and her shoulders relaxed considerably as she looked up at him. “Thank you so much, James.”

“It’s no problem. I did a lot more dirt-digging as a human.” He continued looking blandly at the file. “I really hoped I’d never have to do it again, though.”

Her eyes grew sad and she touched his hand on the counter. “Well, it means a lot to me that you did, and the future parents of this town.”

He sighed and chuckled slightly, amusement lighting his red eyes. “I suppose I did. It does feel good to use it for something good. Oh well, why don’t you just head out? Turn that in and show him who’s boss!”

“And I’m goin to do just that,” she said as she stuffed the file into her bag. “But first, I’m going to spend the day with my family!”

His smile grew wider at hearing that and he waved her off as she left the shop. "As you should, Rhoda. As you should."

* * *

 

Claude spent the afternoon in silence as he lingered beside the happy trio, left forgotten at every turn. Whether it was Luca pulling the other two toward a window or Hannah insisting on holding both of their hands, no one asked Claude to join in. It was just a bit hurtful, actually, but he thought better of it every time he stopped to greet someone from his past. Then of course the subject would turn to his wonderful “family.” Then came the lonely conversations about how the only true family he had ditched him for the three people who hated him most in the world.

Instead of facing this people, he turned to the ground. This plan was interrupted by a familiar voice.

“Hello Spider.”

He looked up, his back stiffening in response at the man before him as he looked into those horrible black eyes.

“You know Claude, too?” Hannah asked, not reading him at all.

Gagnon shifted back and said, “Something of the sort. Of course, I knew him as Peirce.” He looked up to Claude. “Tell me, when did you get into town?”

_“Leave.”_

The trio before him, who knew he rarely showed emotion at all, was startled to hear such an angry tone come out of Claude’s mouth.

The man only snickered. “Come now, Claude- that is your new name, isn’t it- at least introduce me to your _lovely_ little family.” He turned to Luca, reaching out a hand as he asked, “And just who are you, little one?”

Claude jumped out in front, grabbing his hand and pushing Gagnon back. His eyes flared as a sudden fury took over his body. He looked back on all of the things he wished to do to this man. Seeing him again only infuriated him further as he spoke again with another simple _“Leave.”_

Gagnon grimaced. His French accent only made his words all the more intimidating as he said, “Listen here, _Spider._ I don’t like your tone. Don’t you think some respect should be given to your elder? After all, it would be a shame if anything were to happen to these darling children.”

“I think you should listen to my son.”

Gagnon turned around. His height, being as dramatic as it was, caused him to look down at the tiny woman before him, hands on her hips.

Noticing the hostile air for what it really was, Alois and Hannah gently pushed Luca behind them while Claude remained in front, ready to pounce if this monster tried anything with him or his mother.

“And why should I listen to any of you?” Gagnon asked with a grin.

“Because,” Rhoda said with a smile, “I have something on you- something that’s going to send you to Confine for a long time.”

He scoffed. “And what could that possibly be?” he asked.

“Does the name Felix ring a bell?” He stiffened visibly. “Or Mabel? How about _Ruth?”_

“How do you know about that?” he asked, hands clenching at his sides. “No one knew about that.”

“Records don’t lie I’m afraid,” she said with a grin, slapping her satchel as it hung at her side. “Now, do start floundering. I will notify the police tomorrow. But I’ll give you a running start.” She walked around him to the four people who mattered most to her. “Come along, we’ll find Ronan and Ciel soon. Then we can truly have a family outing.”

“This isn’t over, Rhoda,” Gagnon hissed.

“Oh, but I have,” she turned to smirk at him, _“Cerberus.”_

He left, fuming as he did so. Rhoda took a lot of pride in this, as any demon would. Getting under Gagnon’s skin was certainly not an easy task. Unfortunately, this pride would be Rhoda’s downfall.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Now we get to Gagnon's true character. What will this general do when he doesn't have full control?


	26. Snap

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After years of calm behavior in a game of cat and mouse, the cat finally snaps.

There was a bang.

A loud bang against Sebastian’s door.

He turned over groggily, only for  the Bang to be followed by a succession of thuds. Then he got up, not looking in the bed beside him as he walked over to the door. Once it was open, he saw just what was going on.

There was blood covering the floor, as well as a few places on the door. The source of all of this blood was a half-transformed Ita on the ground. She was coughing and sputtering at his feet and he couldn’t react fast enough, stooping down to look her over as he pulled her into his lap.

“Ita? What has happened to you?” he asked, looking down into her magenta eyes.

Her long, rabbit-like ears flickered as she slowly moaned out, “Gagnon. He was in the house.” She was cut off by a chorus of sputters.

He froze in place as Claude exited into the hallway. “What’s going on?” he asked before seeing Ita’s form.

“Gagnon is in the house,” Sebastian mumbled. “You need to get mother!”

“No, he’s gone now,” Ita said. “He took them with him.”

Her breathing was evening out, but he could tell by the gash in her neck that she wasn’t doing so well.

“Who did he take?” Sebastian asked, worry growing in his voice.

“He tried to get me,” Hannah’s voice trickled down the hall from the top of the stairs, where  Sebastian could see her nursing her side. “He took my blade by force and ran off.”

“And Ciel.”

He looked down at Ita in horror. “What did you say?”

“He took Mr. Ciel with him,” she said, frustration in her tone as she reached up to grip his chest. “He was mad I tell you! He just kept going on about how one more child would pay and-” she was cut off when she started hacking onto the floor beside him.

Sebastian could only sit there in shock as a lantern smashed somewhere around the stairs.

In the distance, he could vaguely hear his mother’s voice before there were footsteps on the stairs and Claude was yelling but he couldn’t figure out why because Ita was coughing blood onto the floor and there was a ringing in hears.

His nightmare was back, and Ciel was gone.

* * *

 

Ciel shook furiously in the hands that held him close to Gagnon- the same hands that pulled him from his bed. All he had to do was nudge a little more or scream a little louder and Sebastian would have heard him. And yet, as with most times, his kidnapper was too quick.

He was surprised when he took the time, a squirming child in his arms, to attack Hannah as well. Ita was unavoidable, and she was taken care of swiftly. He could tell that, whatever form she had, it was no match for this demon and the blade he’d stolen from Hannah. Right out of her mouth.

He was snickering to himself as he threw Ciel into the mud under the tall forest of trees.

“Scream all you want,” he said as he stroked the blade with the tip of his finger. “I don’t really care- never did. I mean, what you do in your final moments is your business. I don’t care if those eyes are permanent or not. Now that I have this blade, nothing can stop me. A demon sheathe, how lucky is that? And Leviathan’s blade too.” He chuckled to himself, as if remembering a fond memory. “It’s just as green as she was back then.” He turned to look at Ciel. “Before she grew soft. Now she wears a suit and handles Hell in a ‘reasonable’ way. How can Hell be reasonable?”

“Perhaps you’re just stuck in your ways,” Ciel said as he picked himself up with a grin. “It hardly matters now. Sebastian’s going to come, and then you’ll be in trouble for sure.”

The handle of the sword came down on his head, successfully knocking him to the ground.

“You think I care about what anyone in that house has to say? Because I don’t. Especially not your domesticated little demon. That’s Ronan, isn’t it? The one you call Sebastian, his real name is Ronan. Oh well,” he raised the blade, “I suppose that hardly matters now.”

Before he could even begin to bring it down, something over took him from the side. It was large and furry, and it hit him like a ton of bricks. After effectively knocking Gagnon off of his feet, the creature reeled back and let out a hardy roar of determination. It was a rather large, almost black, grizzly bear with piercing magenta eyes.

Slowly, that bear toned down into a form similar to Rhoda. “Stay away from-oof!”

She was cut off as Gagnon managed a swift blow to the face, knocking her back and into a tree. She lay there, dazed for a moment, before Gagnon stood and crossed over to her, holding his blade to her throat.

“Oh, Rhoda. You didn’t seriously think you could beat me, did you?” he asked as he twisted the blade, nipping her in the neck. “You foolish demon. Mothering has made you soft. Flower demons are useless in quarrels, you know. Even when it comes to defending their young! Not to mention, your form doesn’t do well when matched with speed- only strength! And, as for me, I have both!”

He was surprised yet again when another blade knocked him back. This one wasn’t a blade at all, but a bony appendage that sprouted from Claude’s arm. Ciel took a moment to wonder when he’d showed up at all, but saw that there was more to this than he realized. The normally stoic face of Claude Faustus now radiated anger and hatred at the man before him. Long fangs peaked over his lips and his arms both produced spike-like objects from his elbows.

“Then allow me to level the playing field,” he growled.

Gagnon scoffed. “Sorry, Spider, but it’s going to take a lot more than some fancy foot work to throw me off. Don’t you forget that I’m a General of Hell! That means that whatever I do with this blade is permanent!”

“You’ll have to hit me first,” Claude said before he charged forward, aiming a blow with one of his spikes at Gagnon’s face.

Gagnon blocked it with the sword, swinging a hit at his stomach. It missed barely as Claude jumped over the blade. He then managed a kick backwards, hitting his cheek before landing on the ground and sliding away. Gagnon, enraged, moved forward, but a few scratches appeared on his clothes and face. He smiled and moved back.

“I see the spider has laid his web,” he said calmly. “Unfortunately for you, I’m not so easy to catch.”

He swung the blade through the air, slicing the strings cleanly. Then his form changed, eyes flickering magenta as he was concealed in a dark aura. Claude backed away, stealing a glance at Ciel and Rhoda, most likely judging if he could get them both out while Gagnon was distracted.

This was a mistake, it seemed, as Gagnon jumped out of the aura just as it turned to bone, already in his full form. His sword was aiming for Claude, and it would have hit him too, if it wasn’t for yet another surprise attack. This time, it was Sebastian, landing perfectly on Gagnon’s arm and effectively pushing it down. That way, the harmless blow only landed in the soft mud.

Gagnon, as opposed to being thrown off by the newest opponent, smiled as he pulled the sword back.

“So, the Crow has finally arrived. And here I thought you’d have your mother clean up your mess all over again. Heh, good to see that you have some decency. And would you look at that- your form is all developed as well!”

While he was talking, another surprise blow came from the side. This one, unlike the others, didn’t land. Ciel looked up to see just who had joined them now. Hanging from Gagnon’s hand by his foot was Alois.

“See what I mean? Children have no respect,” Gagnon said, discarding Alois by throwing him harshly into the mud. “But you’re not a child any more, are you Crow?”

Sebastian scoffed. “Not in the slightest.”

That was when the real fight started. It was no longer quiet blows. It was all three of them now. Sebastian and Claude against Gagnon.

Where he was blocking from Claude’s spikes, Sebastian would land a kick to his side. When he shot back to avoid the swipes of Sebastian’s claws, Claude prepared a few strings of web to mar his back.

Soon enough, Ciel found he couldn’t focus on the fight anymore, and looked over to Alois. He was helping Rhoda up from the tree. She was enraptured by the fight, unable to look away until Alois turned her head and pulled her toward Ciel.

“Where’s Luca?” she asked as she held Ciel’s hand tightly in her own.

He allowed it, accounting for the fact that she was probably terrified.

“Ms. Hannah said she was well enough to take him and Ita to the police,” he said. “They might take a while to find them and get back here though.”

“No, Ita knows the town well, They’ll be back so- Ronan!”

Her frantic yet somewhat calm demeanor broke as Gagnon swung the blade, managing a deep gash in Sebastian’s leg. He didn’t waver, but continued fighting.

“Get to the house!” Claude yelled. “Don’t wait for us!”

“Oh no you don’t!” Gagnon said, bringing his arm back and knocking Claude down while he was distracted. “I’m taking you all out tonight! I’m not going to Confine without killing you all!” He gave a howl of laughter before jabbing downward and plunging into Sebastian’s side.

There was silence for some time before everyone had registered what happened, and even then no one made a noise.

Rhoda fell to the ground, face pale as she tried to think of moving. Claude stood up to move, but Ciel got to Gagnon first. He was in full form, not even going through the aura stage, and he was brutal in his attacks. Long claws raked into Gagnon, who simply rounded back to attempt to hit him with the sword. While he was focused on knocking Ciel off of him, Claude managed to wrestle the sword away. This, accompanied by the burning pain from the long scratches on his shoulder, outraged Gagnon. He reached up and tore Ciel off with his hand. Ciel wouldn’t allow himself to be thrown off, sinking his own fangs into Gagnon’s large arm.

His hand released, and Ciel tore his arm into ribbons while Claude plunged one of his spikes into Gagnon’s side. Rhoda snapped up then, Alois as well, and they started working on knocking Gagnon back. Together, all four of them didn’t let up. They attacked brutally as Gagnon tried rounding back, managing a hit here and there on random parties until he gave up, going limp. Claude and Alois pulled back, knowing he wasn’t dead, but that he wasn’t going to get up either.

“Ciel, stop it,” Alois said, trying to pull him off.

Claude, getting the message, attempted pulling Rhoda off as well.

“Not until he’s dead!” she yelled, jumping down to claw at Gagnon even more with her large, swooping arms.

Ciel didn’t say anything in response to Alois pulling him off, only continuing to tear into him.

Claude retracted his form and reached over to her arm. She flinched up, magenta eyes wild with crazed anger. And then she registered just who was standing in front of her. Her own form retracted and she looked over at Ciel, still screaming out as he dragged his claws through Gagnon’s flesh.

She scooted over and immediately wrapped her arms around him and pulled him off, sobbing into his head.

Ciel didn’t know what to think. In his confusion, his form fell and his eyes faded back to their normal blue. He looked at Gagnon, and then to Rhoda, and finally over to Sebastian’s body. It was lying on the ground, form lost due to trauma. It was just Sebastian. He crawled over, Rhoda letting him go with a sob, only for Claude to wrap an arm around her back and guide her up on her feet.

Ciel looked down at Sebastian’s face, not noticing the tears that fell upon the ground. His hands, still coated in blood, came up to curl a fist in Sebastian’s night shirt, as he was still clad in it from the time they were sleeping together.

“You’re not allowed to die,” he whimpered as he laid his face on Sebastian’s chest. No heartbeat. No illusion of breath. Silence. “We just realized everything we were,” he said. “We still don’t have a name for it, but we’re going to figure it out.” He looked up. “Okay?”

More people started entering the woods and Ciel could vaguely hear the shouts of, “Over here!” and “I see them!” He didn’t pay any mind as Gagnon’s broken form was dragged off. He only cared when they started reaching down for Sebastian and pulling him away

“No,” he started, calmly enough. “No! Sebastian!”

He tried going farther but was interrupted by another hug from a sobbing Rhoda and a frozen Alois. He stopped screaming while they just held him there. A rough night for them all.

A rough night indeed.


	27. Peace

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ciel awaits in the hospital for Sebastian to wake up.

Ciel was in a hospital waiting room a little while later, desperate to be at Sebastian’s side. He hadn’t died, but he _had_ passed out. He was in a room made for special cases involving the Seven Swords. From what he was coming to understand, the name was somewhat misleading. As it turned out, the sword that had done so much damage was only one of Leviathan’s blades and that each of the sins got a new one every year.

Of course that didn’t matter much. All that mattered about this sword was that it had three people in the hospital, all of them in critical condition. It turned out that, while Hannah appeared to have nothing more than a gash on her side, the blade actually secreted a poison made to harm any form of semi-immortal being. She was able to hold it off for so long due to the fact that her body was made to resist the poison, but now she was in terrible danger.

He was told they were bringing in a specialist to deal with the poison. He didn’t care. He just wanted Sebastian.

The door opened shortly and Alois entered with a small smile, Luca at his feet.

“Hey Ciel,” he said, shutting the door. “They said you were fine, so we came back out here to see you.” Ciel didn’t say anything. “Luca wanted to see you to!” he said, grabbing Luca’s hands as he smiled playfully. “Isn’t that right, Luca?”

Luca stared dumbly at the ground. “I want Ms. Hannah.” He started crying slightly and Alois fell to his knees.

“Come on, Luca! You’ll see Ms. Hannah again!” his smile didn’t waver, even as he looked up to Ciel. “And you’re gonna see Sebastian again! You’ll both see! I mean, Ms. Hannah was strong enough to bring Ita all the way to the police station! And as for Sebastian- he’s the strongest guy I know! I mean, you guys have been through everything!”

Ciel heard his reassuring words, but knew they were somewhat for himself. He could tell by the look in his eyes and how it mirrored his aunt’s after his parents died. His mouth smiled, but his eyes were large and his brow was pinched in worry. He continued to play with Luca as the boy simply allowed himself to be led along.

This continued until the door opened and two figures came in. The first was Claude, who held the door open for Rhoda while holding her hand. They sat down across from Ciel, and Alois sat next to him with Luca in his lap. They waited in silence for some time.

“I’m sorry.” They looked over to Rhoda immediately. “I’m sorry for letting this happen.”

She began sobbing and Claude was the one to say, “It’s not your fault.”

“But it is!” she sobbed. “If I’d turned in that file sooner-”

“The authorities would have taken time to look it over,” Claude said. “They probably would have questioned him afterward. He would have known it was you.” His tone was flat, as comforting as the words were supposed to be. “It would have happened anyway, no matter what anyone did. Luca probably thinks he should have slept in Hannah’s room last night, and Ciel probably thinks he could have done something differently while Gagnon was dragging him away. I wish I’d stayed up all night, as I’d planned on doing, but I didn’t. So no one is allowed to blame themselves. Got it?”

They all looked at him, somewhat shocked. This was especially so for Ciel and Alois, who’d thought of Claude as a purely negative force in their lives and, as patchy as it was, he was trying to provide comfort in this much needed time.

Rhoda gave in and leaned over on top of him, much in the same way an elderly woman would lean on a boy scout while he helped her cross the street. They waited, sitting awake in the empty waiting room for hours. Due to the fact that demons rarely had to go to a hospital at all, they didn’t even have the occasional foot traffic to distract them.

So, it was very startling when the hospital doors flung open to reveal a tall woman with dark skin and a long white coat.

“Where are the victims of the Seven Swords?” she demanded as the doors swung shut behind her.

A nurse ran over to her and started floundering before he managed to say, “They’re in here, Asmodeus.”

She walked over to the door, but stopped when she saw the group. “Well, come on then! All of you!”

Ciel blinked but, given the opportunity, stood up. The others soon followed suit as they made their way down the hall with Asmodeus in the lead. Ciel vaguely thought that the name was familiar, but didn’t have time to really think on that as the door was opened and he could see Sebastian propped up on a hospital bed. He stepped forward immediately, but was pushed back by one of the nurses.

“What are you doing in here?” they asked. “Asmodeus, ma’am, please! This is highly unethical!”

“I’m sorry but I’m a strong believer in TLLLC, and I think that these demons are the only ones who can provide it.” She turned around and looked over the three demons in the room. “Besides, nothing appears to be too serious as far as the Seven Swords are concerned. The poison appears to be in the second stage for this one,” she said as she walked over to Ita’s bedside.

Once there, it was like something out of a fairytale. The doctor bent down and pulled out a small vial, which was lifted to Ita’s lips. Then, of course, she placed a kiss over those same lips. Ciel felt a bit uncomfortable watching this, but he continued as Ita awoke. She sputtered a bit and glanced around the room wildly.

“Calm down, cutie!” Asmodeus said. “You’re going to be just fine, but you need to stop moving, okay?”

Ita looked at her for some time before saying, “You’re Asmodeus! And I’m in a hospital!”

“Yes, yes good!” she said as she stood up and walked over to Hannah’s bedside next. She looked her over from head to toe with careful eyes. “I’m not getting anything worse off than the other one, actually she’s almost a bit better. Goodness, she’s a demon sheathe, isn’t she? Oh! I love, love, _love_ demon sheathes! They’re so cute!” She squealed in delight before pouring some of the liquid into Hannah’s mouth and, again, placing her lips over her patient’s.

Ciel looked away this time, unlike Luca and Alois. Those two ran over to her quickly, wrapping their arms around her neck. Alois would deny it later, but both he and Luca were crying with happiness.

Asmodeus accepted this and moved over to Sebastian. She hummed in disapproval, raising a hand to run down his face and chest. “No, that’s not good at all,” she said.

“What is it?” Rhoda asked in fear.

“It’s just as I thought. This demon is _far_ too handsome!” Everyone basically deadpanned at that before she sighed. “Oh well. I guess there’s nothing I can do about it.” With that, the rest of the vial was poured into Sebastian’s mouth and her ruby red lips covered his in an instant.

When they pulled back, Sebastian sat up quickly, irises flashing wildly.

“Oh! I should have known you were a lust demon!” she said, walking over. “Like I said: Far. Too. _Handsome!”_

Ciel and Rhoda walked over immediately. Rhoda started tearing up as she reached out a hand and began squeezing his arm. She placed a hand over her mouth and hugged him as she sobbed harder than ever before into his chest.

“It’s alright, mother, I’m here,” Sebastian said, still reeling from waking up so suddenly as he remembered why he was in a hospital in the first place. “Gagnon! Where is he?”

“Oh, the General?” Asmodeus asked. “Oh, he’s going to be locked up for a long time! Stealing a Seven Sword is bad enough, not to mention all of this? Oh, and those files you handed over are definitely being looked into and added to his charges. Oh! I love, love, _love_ it when people get what they deserve!”

“So, he’s been dealt with?” Rhoda asked.

“Will there be a trial of any sort?” Ciel asked.

“Goodness, no! Such a human thing as Trials have never existed in Hell, especially where the testimony of a demon sheathe is concerned!” Asmodeus said. Suddenly, her bubbly demeanor fainted and she smiled. “No, no. You’re not going to have to worry about a thing. Just keep an eye on each other. Oh, and, as for you,” she looked over to Hannah, “I’m afraid Leviathan must be informed about this. She might want her sword back, actually.”

“She can have it,” Hannah said as she wrapped her arms tighter around the two boys at her bedside. “I have more important things to worry about.”

“Wait, so you’re really Asmodeus?” Ita asked, shock eminent in her voice. “As in, the queen of _Lust?_ Asmodeus?”

“In the flesh!” she chirped. “Oh I love, love, _love_ when people get that look of ‘awe’ in their eyes! Really though, who did you expect? Haven’t you ever heard of what my tears can do?”

“Of course,” Sebastian said with a snicker. “The eyes of lust can see any physical abnormality, and their tears can heal.”

Ciel’s eyes flicked over to him. “You have healing powers?”

“Of course not,” Sebastian said, “Only she can do that.”

“It’s true! Oh well, I must be going,” she doubled over in a dramatic sigh. “Ugh, I love, love, _love_ my job, but I do not love, love, _love_ paperwork! Oh well, I’ll be seeing you all! Hopefully not in the near future!”

With that, she was gone and the hospital doors shut behind her. This was when Claude found it fit to walk over to Sebastian’s bedside.

“I didn’t really think I could kill you,” he said. “Just so you know.”

Sebastian chuckled and reached up to wrap his arm around the back of Claude’s neck and pull him down for a half hug. Claude didn’t fight back, but he didn’t exactly reciprocate the hug either. He just allowed Sebastian to keep doing what he was doing. This scene, of course, caused Rhoda to burst into another fit of sobs and to join in the hug, placing a hand on either boy’s face. Claude rolled his eyes and put an arm around her back. Ciel just lingered there on the side, oblivious as what to do. In the end, he let them hug it out. He’d have plenty of time to talk to Sebastian later, of course.

* * *

 

Later came a long longer after than he’d hoped. First they moved everyone to different rooms, now that the poison had been treated. Then, after the relocation, he had to wait for Rhoda, Claude, even for Alois and Luca to finish up their visits with Sebastian. Finally, after they all left under the vow to visit Ita, he was left alone with Sebastian.

“You’re an idiot,” he said plainly.

“I know I am.”

“A bloody fool.”

“I can’t deny it.”

 A smile over took Sebastian’s face as he looked at Ciel. After a moment, he crossed the room and took Sebastian’s face into his hands before kissing him deeply.

He rested his forehead on top of Sebastian’s, pulling back from the kiss as he said, “I thought I lost you. It was just like when Grell got you, or when the Undertaker pierced you with his scythe.”

“I know,” Sebastian said, an arm twisting around Ciel’s torso to pull him closer.

“I don’t ever want to feel that again,” Ciel said. “It hurts, you know.”

“I do. Believe me. Do you remember when you suffered from that mustard gas?”

“That wasn’t the same,” he said, shaking his head slightly.

“No, it was worse.” Ciel looked up at that to see that Sebastian’s face was entirely serious. “You were safe, but I couldn’t help you. I couldn’t even look at you. I thought I was purely angry because of the contract, but then you came back and there was such a relief.”

Ciel rose a hand to Sebastian’s chest. “Just like what I’m feeling now.”

They kissed again, slow and sensual in their movements. Lips ran over one another and Ciel tried his best not to cry because he couldn’t stop himself. Somehow, he ended up in the hospital cot with Sebastian, curled into his side.

And they fell asleep there. Content for one of the first times in their lives. There were no loose ends. There was no letter from the queen that would show up the next day. For the first time, in a long time, they were at peace.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alright everyone, this is the end! Next we're going to have the epilogue and I'm afraid that will be the end.  
> *Cough* Unless you guys want a sequel *Cough* which I totally haven't been planning since the beginning *Cough* just so you know. *Cough*


	28. Epilogue

Sebastian held his mother’s arms firmly. She was crying, of course, but there was nothing that could be done about that.

“Why do you have to go?” she asked, Claude’s hand remaining on her shoulder for support.

“We need to make our own way,” Sebastian said. “You knew very well that we were leaving today.”

“Don’t use that tone with me!” She tried to hold up some feigned veil of anger, but it regressed as she fell forward, sobbing into Sebastian’s torso.

Beside the door, Alois and Ciel watched the scene.

“Do you think I should help him?” Ciel asked.

“Nah, he’s doing fine on his own,” Alois said, turning back to him. His ruby eyes glinted as he smiled. “So, you’re finally leaving then?”

“Yes, I know you’ll be oh so upset about this,” Ciel said with a smirk. It fell as he said, “you know, I’m never going to be used to those eyes on you.”

“Yea, well, not every demon can keep their eye color like you,” Alois said. “Doesn’t it say something when you’ve always had the perfect color of pride?”

He started laughing and Ciel shoved him playfully, “Hush up. It still hurt like yours did you know.”

Alois continued laughing as he looked back to Luca. “Yea, Luca’s going through his trans formation soon. That’s why we’re gonna stick around for a bit after you leave.”

“Reasonable. I mean, I don’t know how you three would handle a transformation on your own. Don’t get me wrong,” Ciel said.

“No, I get it. I’m just a little too,” he twirled around mid sentence, clapping as he said, “Brilliant!”

“I believe the word is flamboyant.” His eyes traveled over to Claude lazily as he said, “So, are you ever going to give him another chance?”

“Oh, absolutely not! He’s like a big brother or something now,” Alois said. “And, like a dad kind of? I don’t really know what kind of messed up family tree we have, but it’s there.”

Regardless of his unsure words, Alois smiled over to the people behind him. Now, it seemed, Rhoda had taken to sobbing on top of Luca while her sons tried pulling her off of the small child and Hannah giggled innocently on the side.

Ciel sighed. “I suppose I’m part of that too, aren’t I?”

Alois nodded, pressing a finger into his chest, “And don’t you forget it, Phantomhive.”

“Bet your life on it, Trancy,” Ciel said with a smile.

The front door opened in the small hallway, a frantic Ita stepping in. “Sirs, the cab is here for you.”

Rhoda let out one final wail of dismay as Sebastian and Ciel both hugged her goodbye one last time. Then they were grabbing their bags and walking out to the carriage. Ciel was glad to see this time that the driver had a head.

“English underworld please,” Sebastian said.

“Any place exact?” the driver asked.

“Ring of gluttony’s countryside,” he specified with a smile as he handed over the currency.

The driver tipped his hat and then Sebastian seated himself next to Ciel in the carriage. It started moving and Ciel found himself intertwining his fingers with Sebastian’s.

“We need to come back for your birthday next year,” Ciel said.

“I wouldn’t dream of anything else,” Sebastian said as he leaned over, burying his face in Ciel’s hair.

“And mine as well.”

“Can’t forget my mother’s.”

“Then there’s any holiday’s Hell may have.”

Sebastian snickered. “Ciel, is it possible that you’re going to miss my mother?”

Ciel looked up at him with a sly grin. “Are you saying you won’t?”

He laughed and gave a hum of acceptance before he said, “Not at all. Of course, it might be a little hard to miss her when I have you right beside me.”

Ciel pulled back and looked up at Sebastian, laying a kiss on his lips. “If you’d talked like that a while ago, we might have started this sooner. What do you say we make up for lost time?”

Sebastian smiled. “Yes, my lord.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And that's the end. Please leave in the comments if you'd like a sequel!


End file.
